There’s good news and bad news from Wednesday’s North Carolina Lottery Commission meeting.
On one hand, a second set of NC online sports betting rules was approved. On the other, we still don’t have an official launch date for the industry.
North Carolina Lottery Commission meeting update
The rules approved Wednesday include a few dozen regulations pertaining to online sports betting in North Carolina. A few of the highlights include the following:
- NC online sportsbooks cannot advertise to people under the age of 21.
- Operators may not refer to North Carolina sports betting promos as “risk free” if bettors undertake any financial risk.
- Sports venues in the state may include branding for NC online sportsbooks. This was prohibited in prior rules and regulations.
In addition, the Commission announced 14 operators have applied for North Carolina online sports betting licenses. That’s up from 11 a week ago. Operators have been urged to submit applications by Wednesday, Dec. 27, to be up and running when NC online sports betting goes live.
All North Carolina online sports betting operators must partner with an in-state professional sports team or league. Three applicants have already done this, including FanDuel NC, which has partnered with the PGA Tour.
But when will NC online sports betting go live?
We still don’t know for sure. Wednesday’s meeting did not include information on a launch date or a launch timeline.
The Commission has already stated online sports betting in North Carolina won’t be live at its earliest possible launch date, which is Jan. 8, 2024. It’s added that it also won’t launch prior to Super Bowl LVIII in early-February.
Other than that, all we know is that online sports betting in North Carolina must launch by June 14, 2024. That’s the one-year anniversary of when Gov. Roy Cooper signed HB 347 into law.
The next major sports betting event is the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. March Madness tips off on March 19, 2024. NC online sports betting being live by then would be a major boon for business in a state with some of the country’s most well-known teams (such as Duke and North Carolina).
