How Tennessee’s Speaker of the House Helped Keep a Payday Lender’s Struggling Sports Gambling Company Alive

ProPublicaCenter-LeftEN 10 min read 100% complete by Adam FriedmanJanuary 27, 2026 at 12:00 PM

AI Summary

long article 10 min

In Tennessee, Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton allegedly assisted payday lender owners Michael and Tina Hodges when their sports gambling company, Action 247, faced regulatory scrutiny in March 2021. The Hodges, who also own Advance Financial, previously worked with Sexton to create "Flex Loans" with high interest rates. Action 247, struggling to compete with larger sportsbooks, operated out of Advance Financial storefronts, allowing customers to borrow money at high interest rates and then gamble. The Tennessee Education Lottery Corp. raised concerns about this arrangement, but its ability to intervene was limited. Advance Financial, a major donor to Sexton, has sued over 110,000 Tennesseans. Action 247 eventually closed in January 2021.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

Tennessee Lookout 30% ProPublica 30% Virginia 40% FanDuel 50% DraftKings 50% Tennessee Education Lottery Corp. 60% Tina Hodges 70% Michael Hodges 70% Action 247 ×680% Advance Financial ×580% Cameron Sexton ×390% Tennessee ×690%

Keywords

payday lending 90% sports gambling 80% conflict of interest 70% political influence 70% high-interest loans 60% financial regulation 60% advance financial 50% action 247 50% cameron sexton 50%

Sentiment Analysis

Very Negative

Score: -0.70

Source Transparency

Source

ProPublica

Political Lean

Center-Left (-0.40)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

90%

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

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payday lending sports gambling conflict of interest political influence high-interest loans financial regulation advance financial action 247 cameron sexton

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