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North Carolina's Retail Sports Betting Debuts Hours Before March Madness
By Jeff Osienya Mar 21, 2021 LegalityThe Old North State is the newest US state to dip its toes in the retail sports betting waters. Retail sports betting in the state went live on Thursday at two tribal books operated by the Cherokee Indians, in time for the 2021 NCAA Basketball Tournament.USA’s sports betting expansion after the repeal of the PASPA in May 2018 is steadily taking root with the debut of a newly regulated sports betting market in the state of North Carolina. Sports betting in the state is a tribal affair after a Class III compact was successfully negotiated with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. The new gaming compact came into effect on Thursday, March 18th, just before the kick-off of the much-anticipated March Madness tournament.
The Native American tribe has been allowed to start taking sports wagers at both of its casinos; Harrah’s Cherokee Casino in Cherokee and Harrah’s Cherokee Valley River Casino & Hotel just outside Murphy. Both venues which are simply known as The Book opened their doors for business last Thursday at 10:00 am a few hours before the 2021 NCAA Basketball Tournament started.
The Book at Harrah’s Cherokee Valley River Casino & Hotel features an ample lounge spotting a huge 32-foot screen where bettors can catch up on games in real-time, several betting kiosks, and a section for bar-top betting. The Book at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort on the other hand boasts of a much bigger TV screen 90 feet in width, a grandiose lounge with reclining seats coming with USB charging ports, and more than a few betting kiosks. Better yet, the Cherokee facility also features a swanky seating zone dedicated for VIPs only and three exclusive ‘fan caves’ that patrons can rent out to enjoy regal experiences.
Richard Sneed, the Principal Chief of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Principal expressed his delight upon the launch of regulated sports betting at his tribe’s casinos in a statement saying;
Quote“We are excited to offer legal sports betting at The Book, and just in time for March Madness. We would like to thank our partners at William Hill and Harrah’s Cherokee Casinos, as well as members of the state, for making this opening possible.”
Better Late Than Never?
As exciting as this news is for North Carolina sports fans, it has taken almost two years for legal sports betting to officially begin since the state’s Senate approved a tribal sports betting bill categorizing sports betting as a Class III gaming activity back in April 2019. This delay can of course partly be attributed to the Coronavirus, but the pandemic aside, there wasn’t any deadline set in stone for the Old North State to reach an amended tribal-state gaming compact with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.
With no completion deadline to work with, the Native American tribe and the state took their sweet time to discuss the terms of the compact, something that had even gotten interested sports bettors frustrated. It’s however worth pointing out that Governor Roy Cooper and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians had actually agreed on a revised gaming compact last December but the launch of sports betting has come this late because of a lengthy approval process.
Before the activity could start, the tribal-state compact in question hat to first get the green light from the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs, an approval that was given on 2nd March. There was also another 45-day window for public participation but fortunately, the amended tribal-state compact did not face any strong opposition during that period.
Perfect Timing for the Launch of a Sports Betting Market
In a bit to bring in as much revenue as possible from sports betting right off the bat, industry stakeholders are often weighing options to ensure that the market takes off on a high note. With North Carolina’s launch coming a few hours right before the start of the 2021 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, we have to give it to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians for such perfect timing.
For sure, there’s going to be plenty of action for the sportsbooks even though there are still limited options for sports bettors in the Old North State. States like Tennessee have benefited from a well-timed online-only launch so much that the state broke the first-month sports betting handle at that time after bringing in $131 million from wagers.
Last year, Michigan had also timed its regulated retail sports betting market to start exactly a week before the 2020 March Madness which was scheduled to begin on 16th March 2020. Regrettably, the Wolverine State never got the debut it had hoped as the event was canceled on 12th March 2020 due to the pandemic, a day after sports betting went live. Well, miraculously, Michigan still got its last laugh after beating Tennessee’s record for the highest handle in the first week of the launch of online sports betting after the Wolverine state entered the iGaming and internet sports betting vertical on 22nd January.
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