The state of North Carolina already has legal sports betting, but it’s currently only in retail form. That is going to change at some point in 2024, but it might not be as early as some sports bettors in the state would like it to be.
The initial expectation was that the launch of online sports betting would happen at some point in January 2024, but that no longer looks like it will be the case. The state now runs the risk of not launching ahead of the Super Bowl in 2024 and that would be a major blow.
It has been slow moving progress by the North Carolina Sports Betting Committee, and they just don’t think that they can meet the initial deadline of January 8th. The committee continues to take too long to get the sports betting rules finalized, and that is a very important step in the process.
The sports betting law says that mobile apps must be live by June 15, 2024, but the state can’t afford to wait that long. Missing out on an entire NFL season would cost the state millions of dollars, and that’s the reason to legalize this industry in the first place.
First Set of Rules Approved
The North Carolina Lottery Commission was finally given an initial set of sports betting rules to look over, and that group approved the first batch. That’s an important box that was checked, but it’s only going to lead to more questions, and more work.
While these rules can always be changed before the mobile apps are able to go live, it looks as if esports betting is going to be allowed. That’s a big question in every state with legal sports betting, but bettors in this state will have that option.
A second set of sports betting rules has already been proposed as well, and those rules are currently open for public opinion. Those comments can be received all the way through November 27, and that will give the Lottery Commission more to think about.
Sports betting operators are keeping an eye on what is going on in North Carolina as well as they need to decide if they want to apply for a license or not. This could be an attractive sports betting market, but the rules will dictate the operators that want to offer betting.
A more expansive sports betting catalog will be up for discussion as well, and approving that will be a key before the launch.
DFS Ban Removed
The North Carolina Lottery Commission didn’t have to make a decision on a major question surrounding sports betting as one specific rule was removed. Regulators were considering a ban on pick’em DFS games, but that ban was not included in the first batch of rules that were sent in.
There have been many states that have already made this move throughout the country, and it has had a major impact on the DFS industry. DraftKings and FanDuel haven’t been impacted, but some of the smaller DFS sites have had to pull out of other states.
This ban could always be put back in at some point, but DFS stakeholders have made it clear that they are opposed to any ban. The Lottery Commission does not want this argument to slow up the sports betting launch process, and that is why it has been put aside for the time being.
