Chancellor Patricia Head Moskal of Davidson County Chancery Court blocked the Tennessee Lottery from a hearing Wednesday, nearly four weeks after Action 24/7 was initially suspended due to alleged financial crimes on its platform.
In denying Lottery officials a hearing, Moskal wrote, “The Court appreciates that online sports wagering in Tennessee is a newly emerging business, the Act and Board Rules are newly implemented, and (the lottery's) compliance and supervisory responsibilities are newly undertaken. Nevertheless, the Court must enforce the provisions of the Act and Rules as written.”
Action 24/7’s license was suspended after a lottery investigator found instances of money laundering and suspected credit card fraud. The investigator said damages were in the “tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars,” though the actual figure came out to $22,601.
Moskal is the same judge who temporarily reinstated the sportsbook’s license on March 26. She wrote, “Action 24/7 has clearly shown the likelihood that its right are being violated and it will suffer immediate and irreparable injury pending a final judgment, or that the acts of TEL will tend to render a final judgment in this appeal ineffectual.”
Action 24/7 argued that because it was suspended during the NCAA Tournament, one of the most wagered on sporting events of the year, customers went to competitor sportsbooks and likely won’t return to their platform.
