Several online sports betting operators, which include big names in the growing field of legalized gambling, and their affiliates held special events to showcase new gambling opportunities in the nation’s ninth-largest state. North Carolina is now the 30th state, along with the District of Columbia, to offer mobile sports betting, according to American Gaming Association.
Registered customers within the state can place bets on professional, college or Olympic sports.
“North Carolina is a state we’ve been dying to get into for several years now,” DraftKings chief commercial officer Jeremy Elbaum said at a public event at the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, where former Carolina Panthers player Greg Olsen made the ceremonial first online bet. “The way the sports calendar works here, the love for college, the love for NASCAR in particular and obviously the other major sports has made this a key state for us.”
The North Carolina State Lottery Commission, under a June 2023 law allowing games to license operators and set rules, announced several weeks ago that wagering on mobile devices and computers will begin at noon Monday. The start date—on the eve of the popular Atlantic Coast Conference men’s basketball tournament—has not gone unnoticed by sports fans.
Governor Roy Cooper signing the sports betting bill into law approved by the General Assembly a lawyer and avid fan of the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes, said he bet the team would win the Stanley Cup later this year. He said any money won will go to the team’s charity fund.
“Legalizing sports betting will provide a significant boost to North Carolina’s economy and allow our thriving sports industry to continue to grow,” Cooper said in releasing the statement. video, pre-filmed before the noon kickoff where he takes the ice at Team PNC Arena in Raleigh.
The Commission announced eight initial licensees February 29. The next day, these operators began opening accounts for players 21 and older and receiving cash deposits. This has led to gambling operators using a plethora of advertising on television and social media in an attempt to attract customers with financial incentives.
In addition to DraftKings, BETMGM and Underdog Sports Wagering received initial sports betting licenses; companies doing business as FanDuel Sportsbook, Fanatics Sportsbook, bet365 and ESPN BET; and an organization affiliated with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, which along with Caesars Sportsbook already operates sports gambling at the tribe’s two casinos in western North Carolina and now offers mobile betting. All eight operators participated in Monday’s lottery drawing, according to the lottery commission.
The latest amendment to the law in 2023 stated that most applicants for interactive betting companies must enter into an agreement with a professional team in the state or certain professional golf or auto racing facilities or governing bodies to obtain a license. For example, DraftKings has an agreement with NASCAR, and Fanatics Sportsbook is affiliated with the Hurricanes.
The law would also allow in-person betting at future sportsbooks, which would be required to be located at or near certain major sports venues or auto racing venues. The commission said they would open on a case-by-case basis once operators met the requirements. Provisions of the statewide horse racing betting commission act and the establishment of live horse racing rules will also be implemented in the future.
The legislation would tax sports betting at a rate equal to 18% of gross betting revenue less distributed winnings. Revenue could top $100 million a year within five years, according to a legislative analysis.
The government’s share will go in part to the athletic departments at UNC’s 13 schools, amateur and youth sports events, and gambling education and treatment programs. Some licensees have talked about “responsible gaming” features in their betting apps.