Super Bowl betting warning: Tennessee’s Sports Wagering Council (SWAC) has issued a stark warning to bettors ahead of Sunday’s Super Bowl between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles

use offshore sportsbooks at their peril According to state-oriented media, SWAC is advising bettors in the US’s largest online-only legal sports betting

Tennessee's Sports Wagering Council (SWAC) has warned bettors against using offshore sportsbooks ahead of Sunday's Super Bowl between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles.

According to local media, SWAC is advising bettors in the US's largest online-only legal sports betting market to use offshore sportsbooks at their own risk.

SWAC Director of Engagement David Smith issued the warning against using the “more popular offshore books,” according to WATE 6. Smith even went so far as to name MyBookie.ag, BetOnline.ag, BetUS.com.pa, and Sportsbetting.ag. He also noted that some of these sites are endorsed by pro athletes.

Smith stated that, out of the sportsbooks he named which were most popular with Tennesseans, SWAC research found that “they don’t offer some of the consumer protections.”

Smith added that some sites are marketed using pro athletes “so to the naked eye, it’s not some HTML website that you're wagering through.”

The SWAC exec went on to say that bets “on a coin toss or […] the color of the Gatorade” are illegal bets only offered by offshore operators.

Local media cites the Council as warning bettors to wager legally via the 12 regulated sportsbooks in Tennessee, the US's biggest online-only sports betting market with $4.5bn a year wagered. Smith said if bettors were wagering on the Super Bowl, they should do so legally via licensed operators including FanDuel, DraftKings, and Action24.

The SWAC exec noted that the regulated sites offered important user protections. He described these as “holding reserves to make sure they can pay you when you win and keeping your personal information secure.”

The Tennessee regulator's name and shame approach to NFL offshore betting reflects SWAC's all-out war on the unlicensed online vertical.

In October, Tennessee became the first US state to go beyond issuing cease-and-desist letters to offshore iGaming operator Bovada and hit it with a $50,000 fine for flouting state gaming regulations.

At the time, SWAC said it was “pursuing every available remedy to eliminate illegal sportsbooks from Tennessee.”

Ahead of Super Bowl LIX, the SWAC reinforced its message to bettors. Namely, to understand their wagers and “be willing to wager money that you're willing to lose,” while also enjoying the experience without chasing losses.

“We just want to make sure if people do choose to do this, that they aren't doing it as a form of entertainment,” Smith added.