North Carolina Sports Betting: March Madness Launch Possible

Mobile North Carolina sports betting won’t be live in time for Super Bowl 58, but March Madness (tipping off March 19) is the likeliest date now that a key step in the process is underway.

The application process for North Carolina online sports betting operators has begun in the Tar Heel state as of Dec. 1.

Sportsbook operators have until Dec. 27 to apply in order to be eligible to launch on the ‘go live’ date, which hasn’t been announced yet.

It was initially thought that North Carolina sports betting could launch by Jan. 8 - the earliest date written into HB 347 and the date of the College Football Playoff National Championship game.

However, a change to the licensing structure (sportsbooks must partner with a team or venue to get a license) and the required regulatory process has made a launch for Super Bowl 58 impossible.

North Carolina Sports Betting At A Glance

There will be up to 11 mobile sportsbooks launching in North Carolina, where the legal betting age is 21. Betting on college sports - including wagers on in-state teams - is permitted.

The North Carolina State Lottery Commission has stated that applications from DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM and any other sportsbook looking to do business in the state on the ‘go live’ date must be submitted by December 27.

There will be a 60-day approval window, plus a 30-day extension. Operators will be taxed at a rate of 18%.

North Carolina State Lottery Commissioner Ripley Rand said in a press release that launch for Super Bowl 58 “won’t be the case” and that a launch date might come in early 2024.

More clarity will come once the application process is closed on Dec. 27.

Rand said they will need to complete background checks and ensure all regulatory requirements are in place before setting a launch date.

Here is a list of things the North Carolina State Lottery Commission has told sportsbooks they need to do in order to be ready in order to launch on the ‘go live’ date.

• Obtain a “written designation agreement" with a team, league or sports venue
• Establish a responsible gaming program
• Demonstrate internal control systems that protect consumers and are compliant with sports betting rules
• A third-party must complete internal control check and certify internal controls

Other sportsbooks can launch later in the year if they miss the December 27 deadline, however.

The newly-established Sports Betting Committee met on Dec. 6 and approved a revised set of sports betting rules.

The biggest news to come out of the meeting is the committee reversed course on its earlier decision of prohibiting sportsbooks from acquiring naming rights for stadiums and sports venues.

Bet365 recently struck a deal with the Charlotte Hornets and what that means is theoretically the Spectrum Center could be renamed the bet365 Arena in the future.

Another change the committee approved upon reviewing public comments is affiliate marketers can work with sportsbooks as long as they don’t get revenue from wagers placed.

These rules still need North Carolina State Lottery Commission approval.

The North Carolina State Lottery Commission meets on Dec. 13. We should soon have a better idea of when North Carolina sports betting will launch.

North Carolina Sports Betting: Teams & Venues Hold the Power

It was initially written into the bill to allow for up to 12 online sportsbooks to launch in the state, but a late change has altered that to a max of 11 licenses.

A unique aspect of the North Carolina sports betting bill is that sports betting operators must have a “written designation agreement” with a pro sports team, golf course, or racetrack in order to receive a license (and there are only 11 entities that can provide partnerships).

This rule does not exist in the rest of the 38 states where sports betting is legal. A regulatory commission has full control over licensing in those states.

This rule essentially means that if a pro team like the Panthers decides to end a sports betting partnership, that operator must close up shop and payout all pending bets.

Two sportsbooks have already conformed to the new “written designation” rule: bet365 recently announced a partnership with the Charlotte Hornets and ESPN BET has a deal with Quail Hollow, site of the PGA Tour’s Wells Fargo Championship.

The ESPN BET and bet365 deals are the first of what will be many North Carolina sports betting partnerships.

The North Carolina sports betting bill allows for the following eight brick-and-mortar sportsbook locations:

• Bank of America Stadium
• Charlotte Motor Speedway (Betway)
• North Wilkesboro Speedway
• PNC Arena
• Quail Hollow Country Club (ESPN BET)
• Sedgefield Country Club
• Spectrum Center (bet365)
• WakeMed Soccer Park

It should be noted that college stadiums are not permitted venues under the rule. So, which operators are likely to enter the North Carolina sports betting market?

Caesars already operates two land-based casinos located roughly 40 minutes from the North Carolina-South Carolina border, so that’s an obvious one. Let’s take our other best guesses:

• Caesars Sportsbook North Carolina (confirmed)
• Bet365 North Carolina (confirmed)
• BetMGM North Carolina (confirmed)
• DraftKings North Carolina (confirmed)
• FanDuel North Carolina
• ESPN BET North Carolina (confirmed)
• Fanatics Sportsbook North Carolina
• Betway North Carolina (likely)
• Betr North Carolina

North Carolina Sports Betting Timeline Update

📅 December 6, 2023: The newly-formed Sports Betting Committee approves an amended version of the second set of sports betting rules. Among the changes: Sportsbooks can now acquire naming rights to stadiums and venues and affiliate marketing companies are permitted as long as they don’t receive revenue from wagers.

📅 November 29, 2023: The North Carolina State Lottery Commission announces sports betting will not launch in time for Super Bowl 58. The Commission announces it is now taking sports betting license applications until Dec. 27.

📅 November 17, 2023: The Charlotte Hornets announce they have partnered with bet365. This marks the first collaboration between a sports team and a sportsbook within the state.

📅 November 16, 2023: NC regulators finalize the initial set of sports betting rules. They also decided to postpone the proposed ban on Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) products, and temporary exemptions were granted for pick ’em-style games.

📅 November 14, 2023: North Carolina regulators announce sports betting will not launch by Jan. 8 - the earliest date possible. No specific launch date was announced.

📅 November 8, 2023: The North Carolina State Lottery Commission has released a set of new draft rules intended to regulate the online sports betting industry.

📅 October 17, 2023: North Carolina State Lottery Commission approves the first set of sports betting rules

📅 September 27, 2023: North Carolina State Lottery Commission votes unanimously to create the Sports Betting Committee

📅 September 1, 2023: North Carolina State Lottery Commission announces Gaming Laboratories International will assist with sports betting regulations.

📅 August 3, 2023: DraftKings confirms it plans to launch in North Carolina in a press release outlining its second-quarter financial results

📅 July 26, 2023: BetMGM confirms it will launch in North Carolina during its 2023 first-half update

📅 June 14, 2023: Gov. Roy Cooper signs HB 347 into law at the Spectrum Center

📅 June 6, 2023: HB 347 passes final House vote by 68-45 measure and heads to governor to be signed into law

📅 June 1, 2023: HB 347 passes in the Senate by a vote of 38-11

North Carolina Sports Betting Launch Update

North Carolina sports betting won’t be live by Super Bowl 58, but there is another event the NC State Lottery surely doesn’t want to miss: March Madness, which is set to begin on March 19.

The state of North Carolina is obsessed with college basketball and March Madness is the second-biggest wagering event - after the Super Bowl.

And yes, college betting is allowed under HB 347 (though it was a point of contention for a bit).

January 8 would have been an ideal time for North Carolina sports betting to launch - and in fact that was the date written into the bill - because it’s the day of the College Football Playoff National Championship Game.

However, a North Carolina sports betting launch has been slow to develop since the bill was signed into law on June 14, 2023 by Gov. Roy Cooper.

It typically takes around six months for a state to launch sports betting, but Kansas and Kentucky have shown it can be done sooner now that so many other states (38) have provided the blueprint.

Part of the delay was caused by the late, controversial decision to require a partnership with a pro sports team or venue in order to be licensed.

March 19 is when the NCAA Tournament tips off, so that’s the date to watch for.

As it stands, HB 347 calls for North Carolina sports betting to launch no later than June 14, 2024.

Keep this page bookmarked for updates on the launch, as well as information on pre-registration promos from the best North Carolina sports betting operators.

North Carolina Sports Betting Details

HB 347 was signed into law by Gov. Roy Cooper on June 14, 2023. It legalizes online sports betting in North Carolina (the state has had in-person betting at three Western casinos since 2021).

The North Carolina online sports betting bill allows for up to 11 mobile sportsbooks to launch in the Tar Heel State, in addition to eight brick-and-mortar sportsbooks.

Each operator will pay a fee of $1 million for a five-year license. The tax rate will be 18%. Bettors must be 21 and wagering on college athletics is permitted, including betting on in-state teams.

Betting is permitted within a half-mile radius of a North Carolina sports facility with a minimum seating capacity of 17,000, or a venue that hosts an annual professional golf tournament attracting over 50,000 spectators.

Betting on horse racing, aka parimutuel betting, is allowed but there are no horse racing tracks in the state.

The state previously allowed charitable horse racing and banned parimutel horse racing betting outside tribal lands.

College betting is permitted, though it was initially left off the table in one of the earlier failed attempts at passing a sports betting bill.

This could be a boon to attract bettors from neighboring Virginia, which doesn’t allow wagering on in-state teams.

North Carolina Sports Betting Revenue & Taxes

North Carolina sports betting could bring in as much as $20 million per year in taxable revenue, according to the state’s fiscal research division report.

There have also been numbers as high as $126 million (based on a NCsharp.com projected $7 billion in handle).

So where is the tax money slated to go? Here’s the breakdown when it comes to North Carolina sports betting tax revenue:

• $2 million in annual taxes allocated to the Department of Health and Human Services for programs addressing gambling addiction education and treatment.
• $1 million annually to North Carolina Amateur Sports to purchase youth sports equipment or provide public facility upgrades.
• There are also 14 universities that will receive $300,000 annually from license fees and taxes collected.

North Carolina Sports Betting Promotions

Unlike most states, sportsbooks will not be able to deduct their sportsbook promotions come tax time, so that might limit the amount of bonuses available to North Carolina sports bettors.

Still, there are sure to be plenty of lucrative bonuses to be had when North Carolina sports betting launches.

Kentucky recently launched sports betting and operators like DraftKings, BetMGM, Caesars and bet365 were offering hundreds in sign-up bonus for as little as a $5 wager.

We expect DraftKings North Carolina to offer a Bet $5, Get $200 in bonus bets instantly deal, while FanDuel North Carolina will likely follow suit.

Caesars North Carolina might go with its signature $1,000 first bet bonus, which is similar to BetMGM’s $1K first bet promo.

Bet365 recently reached a deal with the Hornets, so expect some great promos tied to Hornets swag and perhaps even a contest to win Hornets tickets.

Of course, all of those operators will also likely offer pre-registration (likely to start some time in February).

Keep this page bookmarked and we’ll have all the North Carolina sports betting pre-registration deals.