-
Casinos for you
North Carolina Issues Online Sports Betting Licenses Ahead of March 11 Market Debut
By Jeff Osienya Mar 05, 2024 IndustryNorth Carolina will launch its online and mobile sports betting market on Monday, March 11, in time for the NCAA college basketball tournament. The debut is a culmination of Governor Roy Cooper’s approval of House Bill 347 in June last year.North Carolina is preparing for its soon-to-be-launched online and mobile sports betting market. As excitement builds for the first online and mobile bets to be placed, the state’s key gambling regulator has approved licenses for select operators. On February 29, 2024, the North Carolina State Lottery Commission announced its decision to award interactive sports betting licenses to eight operators.
The list of licensees comprises well-known online and mobile operators in the U.S., i.e., FanDuel Sportsbook, DraftKings, BetMGM, Fanatics Sportsbook Underdog Sports, Bet365, ESPN BET, and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. As more operators submit applications to obtain licenses over the coming weeks, more licensees are likely to be announced, as the maximum limit set by the state is 13. So, with eight licenses already issued, there is room for five more.
N.C.’s long-awaited launch comes about 9 months after State Governor Roy Cooper signed House Bill 347 legalizing online sports wagering. The budding online and mobile sports betting market will officially go live on Monday, March 11, at noon, Eastern Time, three years after the state welcomed retail sports wagering.
Launch Just in Time for March Madness
The launch of the North Carolina online and mobile sports betting market will precede the March Madness season by a week, allowing players to get into the action as early as possible. In the meantime, potential online and mobile aged 21 and above can start getting ready to place their very first bets by preregistering accounts with the approved operators.
N.C.’s window for preregistration officially opened in January as the initial eight applicants were announced. All sports betting enthusiasts of legal betting age will now be able to bet on horse races along with amateur, collegiate, and professional sports within the state. The North Carolina State Lottery Commission Chair, Ripley Rand, stated:
Quote“Issuing the first interactive sports wagering operator licenses today represents a major milestone in establishing legal sports betting in North Carolina.”
Rand added that the Commission was committed to ensuring the launch would be a success.
Over $100 Million in Annual Tax Revenue Expected in First 5 Years
The move to legalize sports betting in the Tar Heel State was undoubtedly fuelled by the earning potential the new market would bear. With an 18% tax imposed on the GGR generated by the sportsbooks, the state is looking at a significant boost in overall revenue. According to betting analysts, the state is slated to rake in about $64.6 million in the first year of the launch, and it will grow to an estimated $100.6 million over the following four years.
Meanwhile, to tackle problem gambling, the state has created the N.C. Problem Gambling Program, an addiction prevention and treatment program. $2 million will be set aside each year to support this program. Part of the safe online betting initiatives in the program is a voluntary self-exclusion program where players can voluntarily fill out a self-exclusion form on the Commission’s website. So, players who feel like their gambling is getting out of hand can request to be excluded from any of the legal operators for one year, three years, five years, or a lifetime. Additionally, any winnings earned during the exclusion period will need to be surrendered.
A percentage of the revenue has also been allocated to the state’s 13 colleges and will be used to benefit the athletics departments of the selected institutions. Each college will receive $300,000. The provision for colleges does not apply to the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill or the North Carolina State University as the two are financially well-placed. With that, University of North Carolina – Asheville Athletics Director Janet Cone expressed her excitement for the funds that the college is set to receive, noting:
Quote“I’m excited, no matter how much it is.”
UNC–Asheville’s budget is approximately $9 million, one of the smallest compared to other colleges. So, according to Cone, the amount set to be received will provide an alternative budget line and offset the need to increase student fees in the near future. Instead, the extra income will go toward supporting mental health programs, nutrition for athletes, and sports medicine.
PASPA Ban a Reward of Its Kind
When the U.S. Supreme Court annulled the PASPA 1992 Gambling Act back in 2018, there were a lot of mixed reactions among the states as the decision had been made to have them decide the fate of sports betting within their borders at the state level. For problem gambling advocates, the risk was higher now that several individuals, young and old, would be exposed to betting in one way or another.
Of course, the availability of online gambling options made the stakes even higher. So far, almost 40 states have legalized sports betting, with a good number allowing both in-person and online sports wagering. As part of the state’s online betting regulations, operators are required to deploy geolocation technology in their sportsbooks to curb illegal cross-border online activity. Players must also turn on location settings on the devices used to place bets to ascertain that sports betting activities are monitored.
All Eyes on N.C. Sports Betting Market
As March 11 approaches, North Carolina is poised to join the ranks of U.S. jurisdictions reaping the rewards of a legal online and mobile sports betting industry. The preliminary measures undertaken by the state’s regulators are evidence that anticipation is palpable throughout the state, both among sports fans and stakeholders. The promise of improved economic growth coupled with strategies to ensure a safe experience for players is a progressive one and is being embraced by several interested parties.
Being a rapidly growing industry, as witnessed in states that have since passed bills allowing sports wagering, all eyes are on the Old North State as to how it all pans out. In the meantime, registered players will have access to a series of pre-launch promotions and bonuses to usher them into the online and mobile sports betting arena.
You might also like