This was a banner year for legal sports betting in the Tar Heel State.
North Carolina finally passed and signed into law a bill allowing online and in-person sports betting at specific sites, making way for one of the top 10 most populous states in the U.S. to fully join the market in 2024.
The Tar Heel State has since developed rules and regulations, inched toward a launch date, and saw its first sportsbook operators strike deals with professional teams and sports venues.
The only North Carolina sports betting allowed in 2023 was in-person wagering at three tribal casinos, which don’t publicly release sports wagering handles and revenue.
Still, it was an historical year in North Carolina, which will be one of the most important states to follow in 2024. How the Tar Heel State reached this point might’ve been predictable in 2023, but everything that occurred has players excited about sports wagering and state officials ready to reap the tax benefits.
Hope breeds results
North Carolina came up one legislative vote short of legalizing sports betting in 2022, but that failed attempt spurred hope among lawmakers that 2023 would be different.
House Bill 347 was introduced in March, easily worked its way through various committees, and then passed through the House by a vote of 65-45.
The Senate didn’t move the bill along as simply and needed several amendments, including a tax rate hike from 14% to 18%, to reach approval, but the amended bill made it through the Senate 37-11 on June 1 and back to the House for approval, which needed two voting sessions to do so.
On June 14, pro-sports betting Gov. Roy Cooper signed the bill into law, making online wagering legal on Jan. 8, 2024.
The law calls for up to 12 mobile operator licenses, a $1 million licensing fee, in-person wagering at eight sports venues, and the ability for pro teams and venues to sign deals with sportsbooks.
See also: Sports Betting in Ohio in 2023
Parameters in place
Shortly after the bill was signed into law, the North Carolina Lottery Commission, the regulation body in the Tar Heel State, created the sports betting committee to begin developing wagering rules.
The commission has established a catalog of sports that can be wagered on when online betting launches, including professional, collegiate, horse racing, eSports, and Olympic sports.
Two sets of rules have also been approved, but a decision to allow fantasy sports will be determined at a later date. The committee also determined that horse racing will require a different set of rules and regulations than sports.
The operator, supplier, and provider licensing application process is underway, and betting won’t be active on Jan. 8. The North Carolina Lottery Commission determined in November that wagering won’t go live by Super Bowl LVIII.
State regulators are asking operators to have the application process completed by Dec. 27 in hopes of approvals done 60 days later, which means sports betting could begin in time for March Madness in a basketball-centric state.
See also: 10 Predictions, Bold and Otherwise, About Sports Betting in 2024
Sign the dotted line
It took about five months after the law was signed to start seeing partnerships form in North Carolina.
The Charlotte Hornets made the first move in the Tar Heel State, striking a deal to make bet365 the official sports betting partner of the NBA franchise. Signage can already be seen inside the Spectrum Center.
Several others have since followed. PENN Entertainment landed a deal with Quail Hollow Golf Club, home of the PGA Tour’s Wells Fargo Championship, to bring its newest platform ESPN Bet to North Carolina.
FanDuel, one of the top sportsbooks in the U.S. market, got into the Tar Heel State through its partnership with the PGA Tour while Fanatics inked a deal with the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes in December.
All of the sportsbooks that partner with teams or venues gain access to the N.C. market when betting goes live in 2024.
