North Carolina is a state with a legal sports betting industry in place, but all of those wagers have to be made in-person. That won’t be the case for long though as online sports betting has already been legalized by lawmakers.
There is no clear launch date in the state of North Carolina, but the industry does have to be up and running by June 14, 2024. Most sports bettors in the state have simply been waiting for this online launch to happen, but the market might end up looking much different than expected.
Governor Roy Cooper has been a big proponent of legal online sports betting, and his latest budget proposal has raised some questions. It appears as if Cooper has gone against the current sports betting laws, and it could end up creating an even bigger market.
Pro Teams Could Have Power
The professional sports teams in the state of North Carolina were always going to play a major role in the launch of online sports betting, and the growth of retail wagering. Governor Cooper has actually taken out some language when proposing his budget, which includes the limit of just 12 online sports betting sites.
Under the new proposal, the sports teams would have complete control over the new online industry, and they would also be allowed to offer retail sports betting. Previously, sports betting operators were able to partner with the pro teams in order to apply for a license.
According to many familiar with this budget proposal, Governor Cooper announced these changes without consulting anyone that originally sponsored the bill. Those changes might still have been implemented, but it would have at least created an open discussion.
Industry experts are also extremely confused with this new proposal as it would create a market that hasn’t been seen before in the United States. Professional sports teams in many states are involved with sports betting, but they are only given a portion of the profits from their online partners.
There is a solid list of professional sports teams or organizations in the state of North Carolina, and those include:
- Carolina Hurricanes
- Carolina Panthers
- Charlotte FC
- Charlotte Hornets
- Charlotte Motor Speedway
- NC Courage
- North Wilkesboro Speedway
- Quail Hollow Country Club in Charlotte
- Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro
Gaming Labs International Playing a Role
The North Carolina Lottery Commission held a meeting on Wednesday, and some sports betting launch progress was announced. Gaming Labs International (GLI) was hired to help get the sports betting launch closer to happening, and that company will get to work immediately.
Technically GLI was hired back in August by the Lottery Commission, but an expanded work load was approved on Wednesday. Part of the work that is going to be done by GLI in North Carolina is to hand out licenses to those that apply for a license.
North Carolina hasn’t made a ton of progress in the launch of sports betting over the last few months, but GLI should help speed things up.
