A bill proposed in Virginia could threaten to siphon some NCAA basketball tournament betting money that may otherwise be headed to North Carolina.
That bill, Virginia Senate Bill 124, was passed out of committee earlier this week. If approved, it would allow Virginians to bet on in-state college athletic teams.
More on SB 124
Virginia sports betting has been around for several years. However, the industry possesses one quirk that isn’t necessarily common. While it’s legal for Virginians to bet on college sports, those in the state cannot wager on college sports teams that call the Commonwealth home.
That presents a problem for fans of several prominent teams. The Virginia Cavaliers and Virginia Tech Hokies, which both have college athletic programs at the highest level, aren’t available in the state’s best online sportsbooks. Should Virginians want to play those teams legally, they must go to another state.
This isn’t the first time politicians have tried to change this law. A similar piece of legislation was introduced in 2022. However, while it passed through the Virginia Senate, it died in the House.
How could this affect NC online sports betting?
North Carolina online sports betting will launch on Monday, March 11. That’s a week before the annual college basketball extravaganza, and it meets a publicly-stated goal of Gov. Roy Cooper, who wanted the industry live at that point.
If the current law of the land in Virginia holds, some Virginians may go south to North Carolina to wager on their favorite teams. That would mean a transfer of handle and revenue from one state to another during one of the busiest sports betting events of the entire year.
Many sports betting apps available in Virginia will also be live in North Carolina. A partial list of NC online sports betting apps we expect to be available is below:
What’s next for SB 124?
SB 124 still has a long way to go before it becomes a law. The proposed legislation will now go to the Virginia Senate’s Finance and Appropriations Committee, and it could be discussed later this month.
For now, Virginians need to go elsewhere to wager on local squads. The presence of another nearby option, though, may be motivating lawmakers to change that.
