Opening its virtual doors on November 1, 2020, Tennessee is the first state to go live with exclusively online betting with no retail sportsbooks in the state.
With more sportsbooks deciding to launch in Tennessee, competition is high, and when sportsbooks compete for your business, they tend to offer lucrative sign up bonuses to get you to try their sportsbook over the others.
We will walk you through all the top offers, how to claim them and the best way to use these bonuses to get your bankroll started off right.
Best TN Sports Betting Sites With Sign-up Bonuses
Tennessee sports bettors have their choice of some of the top online sportsbooks in the US market.
Caesars Sportsbook
From their multitude of retail gaming properties around the globe, Caesars is a staple in the gambling community. Though new to the online gambling world, Caesars has shown their dedication to competing with the best of them through a lucrative new player offer, a constant barrage of weekly promotions and none more than their acquisition of international online sports betting juggernaut, William Hill.
TwinSpires Sportsbook
From the same folks who bring you the Kentucky Derby each year, TwinSpires Online Sportsbook is the online sports betting wing of Churchill Downs INC. Originally launching as a horse betting site back in 2007, TwinSpires already had the infrastructure in place to launch an online sportsbook. CDI had launched BetAmerica as their sports betting wing, but eventually merged the two sites to the TwinSpires racebook and sports betting site you see today.
BetMGM Sportsbook
When you hear the name MGM, you brain may go directly to Las Vegas, but BetMGM is the online gambling face of the international casino company. BetMGM has set their path to becoming a one of the go-to online sportsbooks in the legal US market, and have brought their popular mobile app the Tennessee.
BetMGM offers a ton of betting options, including one of the most impressive prop bet library out there. Whether live betting, moneylines, spreads or parlays are your go-to bet, BetMGM has you covered. Sweeten up the deal with a full slate of weekly promos and you got yourself the makings of a top notch online sports betting experience.
FanDuel Sportsbook
What started out as a small startup DFS site, has now grown into a sports betting empire. FanDuel is live in every legal state in the US, and was one of the first to go live in Tennessee. With an easy to use mobile app, a full list of betting options, more promos than you can imagine and some of the best odds in the industry, its no wonder that FanDuel is most bettors top option when placing their bets in Tennessee.
DraftKings Sportsbook
DraftKings has long competed with FanDuel in the DFS market, and that rivalry has carried over to the sports betting realm as well. The self proclaimed “King of Sportsbooks" has a lot to offer bettors in the state. You will be hard pressed to not find a promotional offer on most bets whether it be an odds boost, bet and get or other option from their long list of betting promos. No matter if you want to bet on European Handball or your favorite NFL matchups of the week, DraftKings offers lines on an impressive list of betting markets.
Are Tennessee Sportsbook Promos Worth It?
There is no question whether or not sportsbook promos are worth it. Depending on the offer and the type of player you are, there is only an upside to it.
These are just a few reasons as to why these bonus offers are worth it:
- More bonus funds for your virtual wallet.
- You’ll receive money back.
- Can be used as additional sportsbooks in addition to your main one.
- Online sportsbooks are always raising the stakes to get you to play with them.
TN Sportsbook Promo Code vs. Bonus Code
Those new to online sportsbooks will hear plenty of new terms such as promo code and bonus code. Think of these as meaning the same thing.
Each site will have their own terminology, whether it be Promo Code, Bonus Code, Affiliate code or any other similar wording. When signing up for a new online sportsbook in TN, most will require some type of promo code in order to activate the new player offer, so be sure to check TheGameDay before signing up for exact instructions on that particular betting site.
Do You Need A Tennessee Promo Code?
When visiting our website, thegameday.com, you’ll be able to find a few promo codes needed to access welcome offers.
For Caesars Sportsbook, use the promo code “GAMEDAY,” to receive their generous offer, but when signing up to another book, they may just require you to click through our promotional link in order to receive the maximum offer.
Check out our site reviews as we have exclusive deals that can help you get better promotional offers than publicly advertised.
Best Tennessee Sports Betting Promos
In Tennessee, there are a few different types of offers available:
Second-Chance Bet
Many online sportsbooks offer second-chance bets, but its important to know that not all second-chance bets are packaged the same. The main premise of placing your first bet, and if it loses, you get a refund is pretty universal across all sportsbooks, but the main difference is how that first bet is refunded.
When a sportsbook refunds you with site credit, that site credit plays the same as cash and typically only needs to be played 1x through in order to convert it to cash. For example, if you get a $1000 refund on FanDuel, you will be refunded in $1000 site credit. You can bet that site credit in any denomination you choose, like $100 $10 bets, 20 $50 bets etc. Winning bets with the site credit pay out the same as any cash bet, where if you bet $100 at +200 odds, winning bets will pay $300 ($100 stake + $200 profit).
When a sportsbook pays out in free bets, they are one-time use only, and only pay profits. For example, that same bet above would only pay out $200 profit on a winning bet. Free bets are also paid out in one lump sum, so that same $1000 refund would be in the form of a $1000 free bet. Some sportsbooks will allow you to break that free bet into smaller amounts, and BetMGM refunds in 20% slabs, so that $1000 refund would be 5 $200 free bets.
First Bet Match
Online sportsbooks may offer a First Bet Match as their new player offer. To qualify, you may need a promo code or to click through our link to activate the offer. A first bet match is exactly what it sounds like, your first bet on the site will be matched in the form of a free bet, no matter if you win or lose.
For example, if a site is offering a $1000 first bet match, and you register a new account, make a deposit and place a bet of $1000 on the Titans moneyline at +300, and you win, you will be paid out $4000 and be awarded a $1000 free bet as part of the promo. If that same bet loses, you will still receive the $1000 free bet and have another chance to get back to even.
TN Sports Betting Deposit Match
A deposit match is when a sportsbook will match your first deposit up to a certain amount either in site credit or free bets. The terms to pay attention to when taking advantage of a deposit match is if they match in site credit or free bets, and what the wagering requirements are to clear the bonus funds.
If you are rewarded in free bets, it is usually pretty straight forward, in that you place the one time bet, and if it wins, you will be paid out the profits in cash. If you are granted site credit, you will need to wager a certain amount in order to clear the bonus money into your cash balance.
Typically, the wagering requirements are low, like 1x through, but there are some sportsbooks that require 5x, 10x or even a staggering 25x the bonus funds. This would mean that a $1000 bonus offer would require $1000 in play for a 1x, $5000 for a 5x, $10,000 for a 10x and $25,000 for a 25x.
Free Bet
As you’ll see below and also with the examples above, there is a difference between a second-chance bet and a free bet. The primary difference is that a free bet is usually something players will receive in addition to doing something, like depositing money into an account.
The deposit amount could change, but the free bet is usually something around $50. With a free bet, you will only receive back to the winnings. If you made a $50 cash wager and saw that the total winnings would be $90, you would only receive the $40 additional dollars with a free bet.
These are sometimes subjected to a playthrough amount, but the free bet amount, combined with the other terms surrounding the offer, will really determine if it’s worth it or not.
TN Sports Betting No-Deposit Bonus
Typically, this will be something along the lines of “get $25 for signing up with a 1x playthrough requirement.” So, you’ll get $25 into your wallet off the bat and will need to wager $25 in cash on the site to gain access to that $25 bonus to be able to withdraw it as cash. No-deposit bonuses can also come in the form of a free bet that just needs to be wagered once.
Bet & Get
The Bet and Get promotion tends to cloak itself as a welcome offer. However, it’s a bit less exciting than that.
This type of offer will present itself as a deposit match, but rather than getting the deposit match upfront, players will need to wager on the site to get increments of the deposit match.
Similar to the example above, you need to wager $25 on the site to get $1 in bonus credits. The whole idea of a deposit match is that you have the funds available to you and a time limit in which to use them.
This type of offer is not the best compared to others unless you know for sure you plan on wagering often and enough to cover, for example, a 25x playthrough.
How To Pick the Best TN Sportsbook Promos
It is always vital to read the terms and conditions when it comes to promo offers. You may be listening to a podcast that advertises these offers, but these types of ads you’ll see online tend to only scratch a general surface.
Here are some things to keep in mind with all promo offers:
- Odds Restrictions: This is something you may find quite often. Risk-free bets often have them. Odds restrictions are usually associated with a qualifying bet. Sometimes, sportsbooks will outline it clearly in terms of service. Other times, it’s usually a bit more of a scavenger hunt to find. This is to prevent players from wagering on something that is either almost a sure-fire win like -1000 or something inordinately wild like +20,000. As we saw with WynnBET, these restrictions are -150 to +10,000.
- Time Constraints: Unfortunately, various bonuses cannot live in your account forever. The general timeline you’ll see is “this expires in 30 days” or “this offer must be used within 30 days.” This timeline is something to keep in mind. If you plan on wagering on the Super Bowl and not paying any further attention to the account, it won’t make any sense to pursue an offer. However, if you plan on wagering multiple times a week during the NFL season, that’s a different circumstance.
- Playthrough: This is the one to absolutely always look out for. A deposit bonus sounds great, but the playthrough requirement is one you must pay close attention to. We’ve seen these go from 1x to 50x, and maybe even higher. This is the number of times in which you must wager the bonus, multiplied by either the bonus itself or the bonus combined with the initial deposit. Here’s an example: If a deposit bonus is up to $500 and the playthrough requirement is 10x with the bonus and deposit combined, and you use the full $500, you must then wager $10,000 on the site to be able to withdraw the $500 as cash. Playthrough requirements are designed so that players can’t receive a deposit match and then immediately withdraw it and never return to the sportsbook again.
- Site Credit vs. Cash: This is also something to pay attention to, especially for bonus bets offers. While you may get the cashback a lot of times with bonus bets offers, it’s simply a non-withdrawable site credit. Site credit is not the same as cash because you cannot withdraw it. This makes it unable to deposit and wager $1,000, lose the bet, and withdraw the $1,000. This means you technically get the money back, but it can only be used on future bets.
How To Use Tennessee Sportsbook Bonuses
The best way to take advantage of betting site bonuses is to go into an online sportsbook with a strategy.
For example, say you’re a player who plans to budget $1,000 for wagering within a month or 30 days. You see that a sportsbook is offering a deposit bonus of up to $1,000. At first, you think you’ll have an additional $1,000, but as we outlined above, that may be somewhat true, but to withdraw that $1,000, there’s more than meets the eye.
You look at the terms and conditions and see that there is a 10x playthrough on the bonus amount only.
So, from there, you’ll calculate that you need to wager $1,000 on the site within 30 days to get access to withdraw the $100. You’ve already budgeted for that, and thus, you claim the welcome offer with an initial deposit of $100. You then bet the $1,000 in that month, and you’ve managed to take full advantage of the offer, given the parameters.
Do TN Sports Betting Bonuses Have Restrictions or Limitations?
Going back to the terms and conditions, there could be other restrictions or limitations to look out for. However, in Tennessee, we’ve covered these in the above sections.
There could be other restrictions, such as utilizing bonuses when it comes to parlays. None of these online sportsbooks say anything regarding parlays specifically.
What Are Wagering Requirements?
Like a promo and bonus, playthrough requirements mean the same thing as wagering requirements. This is simply the number of times extra in which a player must wager on the site multiplied by the bonus a player receives, the initial deposit amount, or both. This must be achieved to access the bonus funds and be able to withdraw them.
Free Bets vs. TN No-Deposit Bonuses
There is a difference between free bets and no-deposit bonuses.
A no-deposit bonus is an amount a player will receive simply for signing up.
However, a free bet is a promotion that could be “one free bet of $50” or “three free bets of $10.”
In either case, players will be able to use them and collect the winnings of the bet only. So, if you used a free bet and the total payout was $18, you would receive the $8 and be subjected to some kind of playthrough amount, usually something small like 1x.
No-deposit bonuses usually have similar playthrough requirements, but you can use them however you want, such as $4 here, $21 there, and so on.
Look for More Than One Tennessee Sportsbook Promo
While the welcome offer is always a great start to a sportsbook, you should always seek more.
If you plan to keep on participating in sports betting, you’ll want other promo options after you’ve been wagering for additional time. This can sometimes factor in to the equation for which sportsbook to choose.
The welcome offer may be middle-of-the-road, but if there are other promo options for football or parlay insurances, and more, versus another sportsbook with a top-flight welcome offer but nothing else, it all factors into your decision.
