As used in this Chapter, and other Chapters promulgated by the
Council, unless the context otherwise requires:
(1) "ACH" means Automated Clearing House,
which is a network that connects all banking and financial institutions within
the United States.
(2) "AML" means
anti-money laundering.
(3)
"Applicant" means an individual, group of individuals, or entity that applies
for a License or Vendor Registration.
(4) "Bettor," "Patron," or "Player" means a
Person who is:
(a) Twenty-one (21) years of
age or older;
(b) Physically
present in the state of Tennessee when placing a Wager;
(c) Not prohibited from placing a Wager under
the Sports Gaming Act, T.C.A. §
4-49-112; and
(d) Not a Prohibited Participant.
(5) "Board" or "TEL Board" means
Board of Directors of the Tennessee Education Lottery Corporation.
(6) "Bond" means a bond held in escrow for
the purpose of maintaining adequate reserves to account for losses suffered by
a Licensee and owed to Bettors and which cannot be released without consent of
the Council.
(7) "Cancelled Wager"
means a Wager that was legal and appropriate when originally placed by the
Bettor, but some event, circumstance or occurrence prevents the Wager from
being unequivocally determined in accordance with the Licensee's approved House
Rules or Internal Control Standards.
(8) "Cash Basis" means an accounting method
whereby Wagers are recognized during the period they are placed, and where the
date of the event being Wagered upon is irrelevant.
(9) "Cashless Wagering System" or "CWS" means
a host system whereby a Player maintains an electronic account on the host
database that allows play through the use of a combination of two or more of
the following for login: username, password, or personal identification number
(PIN).
(10) "Cheating" means,
inter alia, improving the chances of winning or of altering
the outcome of a Wager, Sports Gaming System, or Sporting Event by deception,
interference, or manipulation or use of Material Non-Public Information or
through use of any equipment, including software pertaining to or used in
relation to the equipment, used for or in connection with a Wager, Sports
Gaming System, or the Sporting Event on which Wagers are placed or are invited,
including attempts and conspiracy to cheat.
(11) "Council" means Tennessee Sports
Wagering Council.
(12) "Event
Number" means a set of alpha and/or numeric characters that correspond to a
Sporting Event or an Event ancillary to a Sporting Event.
(13) "Executive Director" means the
individual hired by the Council to serve as Executive Director, as provided by
T.C.A. §
4-49-105(a), to
direct and oversee the day-to-day operations and management of sports gaming on
behalf of the Council under the Sports Gaming Act and the Council's
Rules.
(14) "Federal Excise Tax"
means the net taxes upon Wagers paid to the United States Treasury by Licensees
for Wagering transactions authorized by Tennessee law.
(15) "Geolocation Service" means a technology
service used by an Operator to identify real-world geographic location(s) of an
Internet or mobile connected remote wagering device, application or
website.
(16) "Global Risk
Management" means management, consultation, instruction, or transmission of
information relating to Interactive Sports Gaming by a Licensee or Registrant
who also holds a license to conduct sports gaming in another Permissible
Jurisdiction. The term includes: the management of risks associated with
Interactive Sports Gaming involving a Sporting Event or any other Event for
which a Wager may be accepted; the setting or changing of Bets or Wagers,
cutoff times for Bets or Wagers, acceptance or rejection of Bets or Wagers,
pooling or laying off of Bets or Wagers, lines, point spreads, odds or other
activity relating to Betting or Wagering.
(17) "Good Standing" means that an individual
or entity is currently in compliance with the provisions of the Sports Gaming
Act and these Rules, and has not, during the preceding six-month period of
Licensure or Registration, been assessed an administrative fine or civil
penalty by the Council, or been subject to the revocation, suspension, or
nonrenewal of its License or Registration by the Council.
(18) "Gross Handle" means the total amount of
Gross Wagers less Cancelled or Voided Wagers received by the Licensee over a
specified period of time.
(19)
"Gross Wager" means
(A) all cash and
Promotional Wagers received by Licensees from Bettors as Wagers; and
(B) includes all Wagers placed with cash,
cash equivalents, promotional items, and all other media by which a Bettor is
allowed to place a Wager.
(20) "Immediately" shall mean 48 hours or
less, regardless of whether that 48-hour time period falls within a business
day.
(21) "Immediately Notify" or
"Immediately Report" means to notify or report to the Executive Director within
48 hours of a Licensee or Registrant becoming aware of an event, circumstance,
action or omission that gives rise to a duty to immediately notify or report to
the Council under the Sports Gaming Act or these Rules.
(22) "Independent Testing Laboratory" means
an impartial entity that conducts testing and analysis of an Operator's Sports
Gaming System to assess its compliance with applicable standards and
requirements as specified by these Rules.
(23) "Institutional Investor" means
(a) a bank as defined in Section 3(a)(6) of
the Federal Securities Exchange Act;
(b) an insurance company as defined in
Section 2(a)(17) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended;
(c) an investment company registered under
Section 8 of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended;
(d) an investment advisor registered under
Section 203 of the Investment Advisors Act of 1940, as amended;
(e) collective trust funds as defined in
Section 3(c)(11) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, amended;
(f) an employee benefit plan or pension fund
that is subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as
amended, excluding an employee benefit plan or pension fund sponsored by a
publicly traded corporation affiliated with a Licensee;
(g) a state or federal government pension
plan;
(h) a group comprised entirely
of Persons specified in (a) through (g); or
(i) such other Persons as the Council may
determine for reasons consistent with the public policies of the State of
Tennessee.
(24)
"Integrity Monitoring Provider" means an independent third party that assists
Licensees with the identification and reporting of Unusual or Suspicious
Wagering activity.
(25) "Integrity
Monitoring System" means a system of policies and procedures approved by the
Council through which a Licensee identifies and reports Unusual or Suspicious
activity.
(26) "Interactive Sports
Gaming" means placing a Wager on a Sporting Event via the Internet, on a mobile
device, or other telecommunications platform.
(27) "Internal Control Standards" mean the
internal procedures, administration, and accounting controls designed by the
Licensee to conduct sports gaming operations.
(28) "Key Personnel" means individuals who
have the power to exercise Significant Influence Over Sports Wagering in this
state and who are associated with the Applicant for Licensure or Registration
as:
(a) A principal owner of more than five
percent (5%) of the Applicant;
(b)
A partner of the Applicant, voting member on the board of directors of the
Applicant, or an officer of the Applicant, as those terms are defined in title
48 or 61, as applicable; or
(c) An
employee of the Applicant who principally oversees wagering activity, risk
management, platform management, or integrity monitoring.
(29) "Know Your Customer" or "KYC" means a
software or service that is used to verify the validity of a Patron's age and
identity.
(30) "Layoff Wager" means
a Wager placed by a Sports Gaming Operator with another Sports Gaming Operator
for the purpose of offsetting Player Wagers.
(31) "License" means the authority to engage
in Interactive Sports Gaming operations granted by the TEL prior to January 1,
2022; or the Council, pursuant to the Sports Gaming Act under T.C.A. §
4-49-117.
(32) "Licensee" means a Sports Gaming
Operator approved by the TEL prior to January 1, 2022, or the Council, and
operating pursuant to a License granted by the Council or the TEL under T.C.A.
§
4-49-117.
(33) "Material Non-Public Information" means
information that has not been disseminated publicly concerning an athlete,
contestant, prospective contestant, or athletic team, including, without
limitation, confidential or non-public information related to the availability
or plans for an athlete, team or contestant to participate in a Sporting Event,
medical conditions or treatment, physical or mental health or conditioning,
physical therapy or recovery, discipline, sanctions, academic status, education
records, eligibility, playbooks, signals, schemes, techniques, game plans,
practices, strategies, assessments, systems, drills, or recordings of practices
or other athletic activities.
(34)
"MICS" means the Minimum Internal Control Standards established by the Council,
pursuant to T.C.A. §
4-49-110.
(35) "Minor" means a Person who is less than
twenty-one (21) years of age.
(36)
"Mobile Applications" means any interactive platform for use through the
Internet or other telecommunications platform, accessed via a mobile device, or
computer, which has been approved by the Council for operation of Interactive
Sports Gaming by a Sports Gaming Operator.
(37) "Money Line Wager" means a Wager on the
outcome of a Sporting Event outright, with fixed odds in relation to the dollar
amount wagered.
(38) "Multi-Factor
Authentication" means an authentication procedure that uses two or more of the
following factors to verify a Player's identity:
(a) Something known only to the Player (e.g.,
static password, personal identification number, or answers to challenge
questions);
(b) Something possessed
only by the Player (e.g., digital or physical security token or onetime
password provided to the Player);
(c) Something inherent to the Player (e.g.,
the Player's biometric data, such as fingerprint or facial recognition);
or
(d) Any other factors approved
by the Council.
(39)
"Obvious Error" means either a human or technical error that results in a
Licensee offering Wagers at terms, prices, or odds that are materially
different from the general market or clearly incorrect given the chance of the
event happening at the time the Wager was accepted.
(40) "Odds-making" means the calculation,
setting or adjustment of odds on the outcome of a Sporting Event or any
component thereof.
(41) "Official
League Data" means statistics, results, outcomes, and other data related to a
Sporting Event obtained pursuant to an agreement between the Sports Gaming
Operator and the relevant governing body of a sport or sports league,
organization, or association whose corporate headquarters are based in the
United States, or an entity expressly authorized by such governing body to
provide such information to Licensees for purposes of live betting.
(42) "Online Sports Wagering Platform
Software" means an integrated software system utilized by a Licensee to conduct
its online sports wagering operations and through which sports wagering
transactions occur.
(43) "Parlay
Wager" means a single wager that incorporates two (2) or more individual Bets
for purposes of earning a higher payout if each Bet incorporated within the
Wager wins.
(44) "Patron Account
Management Services or Software" or "PAM" means a technology service used by a
Licensee to create, manage, and track a Patron's online Sports Gaming Account
and history.
(45) "Patron Session"
means a period of time when a Player is logged on to a Sports Gaming
System.
(46) "Payment Processing
Service" means a third-party technology system or software used to verify,
facilitate, or authorize payment transactions, including any transfer of funds
to or from Players.
(47)
"Permissible Jurisdiction" means any jurisdiction in which Global Risk
Management or the Betting or Wagering on a Sporting Event is lawful or not
otherwise expressly prohibited under the laws of that jurisdiction.
(48) "Person" means an individual, group of
individuals, trust, or business entity.
(49) "Personally Identifiable Information
(PII)" means any information connected to a Player that can be used to uncover
the Player's identity, including, but not limited to, a Player's SSN, name,
date of birth, email address, residential address, or phone number.
(50) "Prohibited Participant" means any
individual:
(1) who is prohibited from
wagering pursuant to the Sports Gaming Act, T.C.A. §
4-49-112;
(2) who is on any self-exclusion list or
Council exclusion list;
(3) whose
participation may undermine the integrity of the wagering or the Sporting
Event;
(4) who is excluded from
wagering for any other good cause; or
(5) any Person who makes or attempts to make
a Wager as an agent or proxy on behalf of another.
(51) "Prohibited Wager" means an attempted or
placed Wager on any Sporting Event or occurrence which is not permitted under
the Sports Gaming Act or that the Council (and formerly the TEL Board while its
Rules were in effect) has prohibited by Rule.
(52) "Promotional Credit" means free plays,
deposit matches, odds boosts, risk-free Bets, and any other bonus that a Sports
Wagering Operator offers or gives to a Player as an incentive to
Wager.
(53) "Promotional Payout"
means a payout by a Licensee to a Bettor in a form that cannot be immediately
withdrawn by the Bettor as cash.
(54) "Promotional Wager" means a Wager placed
by a Licensee using a bonus or other non-cash item.
(55) "Proposition Wager" means a Wager made
regarding the occurrence or nonoccurrence of an event or circumstance during a
Sporting Event that is not the final outcome of the Sporting Event. A
Proposition Wager does not include the final outcome of the Sporting
Event.
(56) "Registrant" means a
Person who holds a registration issued under T.C.A. §
4-49-131.
(57) "Registration" means approval from the
Council to serve as a Vendor for Interactive Sports Gaming in the State of
Tennessee, or, prior to January 1, 2022, approval from the TEL to serve as a
Supplier or Vendor, as those terms were defined in any previous Rules of the
TEL.
(58) "Resettled Wager" means a
Wager that was originally settled incorrectly by a Licensee due to a
statistical correction, technical error, or human error.
(59) "Responsible Gaming Plan" means a
Licensee's policies, procedures, and processes for responsibly conducting
Interactive Sports Gaming in the State of Tennessee.
(60) "Risk Management" means the management
of risks associated with Wagering, including but not limited to a combination
of one or more of the following: the setting or changing of odds, cutoff times
for Wagers, acceptance or rejection of Wagers, laying off of Wagers, and other
similar activity relating to Wagering.
(61) "Significant Influence Over Sports
Wagering" means the authority to make decisions regarding the daily operations
of a Licensee or Registrant in Tennessee related to Wagering activity, Risk
Management, Platform Management, Integrity Monitoring, or other similar
essential functions related to sports Wagering, as determined in the sole
discretion of the Council.
(62)
"Sporting Event" or "Event" means any professional sporting or athletic event,
including motorsports and e-sports, any collegiate sporting or athletic event,
or Olympic sporting or athletic event sanctioned by a national or international
organization or association, as authorized by the Council pursuant to these
Rules. Sporting Event does not include horse-racing.
(63) "Sportsbook Risk Management or
Odds-making Services" means the services used by a Licensee to identify,
assess, and limit the risks associated with sports betting operations,
including Odds-making Services used by a Licensee to accurately price wagering
markets and to avoid overexposure to a particular Sporting Event
outcome.
(64) "Sports Data Feed" or
"Sports Data Software" means a technology system or software that provides
statistical information used by Operators related to the various aspects of
Sporting Events. Sports data may include, but is not limited to, scores, player
and team performance metrics, game outcomes, player profiles, and historical
records.
(65) "Sports Gaming
Account" means an account established by a Licensee for an individual Patron to
use for Interactive Sports Gaming.
(66) "Sports Gaming Act" means the Tennessee
Sports Gaming Act, originally codified at T.C.A. §§
4-51-301, et seq.,
as amended from time to time. Pursuant to Pub. Ch. 593 (2021), the provisions
of the Sports Gaming Act are transferred to T.C.A. §§
4-49-101, et seq.,
effective January 1, 2022.
(67)
"Sports Gaming Operator" means a Licensee authorized under the Sports Gaming
Act and these Rules to offer and operate Interactive Sports Gaming.
(68) "Sports Gaming System" means any
combination of hardware, software, data networks, and communications used to
manage, administer, or control sports wagering that comprise the system used
for the purpose of offering Interactive Sports Gaming by electronic means,
including, but not limited to Mobile Applications or Internet sites accessed
via a mobile device or computer.
(69) "Sports Gaming System Operational
Assessment" means an assessment performed by an independent testing laboratory
that assesses the Sports Gaming System's compliance with the Sports Gaming
System Requirements set forth in these Rules.
(70) "Sports Gaming System Technology
Integrity and Security Assessment" means an assessment performed by an
independent testing laboratory that assesses the Sports Gaming Systems
technological integrity and security requirements set forth in these
Rules.
(71) "Suspicious Wagering
Activity" means wagering activity in violation of the Sports Gaming Act or
these Rules; that is made or attempted to be made by an agent or proxy (i.e.,
messenger betting); or that is indicative of match-fixing, the manipulation of
an event, misuse of inside information, sports corruption, or other prohibited
activity.
(72) "TEL" means the
Tennessee Education Lottery Corporation.
(73) "Ticket" means a printed record issued,
or an electronic record maintained, by the Sports Gaming System that evidences
a Wager.
(74) "Unusual Wagering
Activity" means abnormal wagering activity exhibited by Players and deemed by a
Licensee or the Council as a potential indicator of Suspicious Wagering
Activity. Unusual Wagering Activity may include, but is not limited to, the
size of a Player's Wager or increased wagering volume on a particular Event or
Wager type.
(75) "Vendor" means a
person who:
(a) Provides one (1) or more of
the following:
1. Geolocation
Services;
2. Online Sports Wagering
Platform Software;
3. Patron
Account Management services/software;
4. Sportsbook Risk Management or Odds-making
services or software;
5. Sports
Data Feeds or Software, including Official League Data feeds and
software;
6. "Know Your Customer"
or "KYC" software or services; or
7. Payment Processing Services;
(b) Serves as an Independent
Testing Laboratory to assess interactive sports wagering platforms, integrity,
or security;
(c) Has direct
interface or interaction with patron accounts or interactive sports wagering
platforms, as determined by the Council;
(d) Receives payment or compensation based on
a revenue sharing agreement in which the Vendor receives a percentage of the
adjusted gross income of the Licensee; or
(e) Provides similar services that are
material to conducting interactive sports wagering, as determined by the
Council; and
(f) "Vendor" does not
include marketing affiliates who are compensated by a method other than a
revenue sharing agreement.
(76) "Voided Wager" means a Wager that a
Licensee voids after acceptance because the Wager is determined by the
Licensee, the Council, or the Executive Director to be prohibited under the
Tennessee Sports Gaming Act, rules promulgated by the Council, other state
laws, or prohibited or otherwise invalid pursuant to the Licensee's approved
House Rules or Internal Control Standards.
(77) "Voucher" means a printed wagering
instrument, or digital representation thereof, used in a Cashless Wagering
System that has a fixed dollar wagering value and is redeemable for cash or
cash equivalents as approved by the Council.
(78) "Wager" or "Bet" means a sum of money or
thing of value that is risked by a Bettor on the unknown outcome of one (1) or
more Sporting Events, including, but not limited to, the form of fixed-odds
betting, a future bet, live betting, a money line bet, pari-mutuel betting,
parlay bet, pools, proposition bets, spread bet, or in any other form or manner
as authorized by Rule of the Council. Wager or Bet shall exclude any sum of
money or thing of value risked on an unknown outcome pursuant to the Fantasy
Sports Act, T.C.A. §§
4-49-201, et
seq.
(79) "Written Notice"
means delivery by mail, overnight courier service, or e-mail.