Basketball-hungry North Carolinians now have their online NC sports betting start date.
At a North Carolina State Lottery meeting Wednesday, regulators announced online North Carolina sports betting will begin at noon on March 11. Users can begin registering North Carolina sportsbook accounts March 1.
“The plan approved today means that North Carolinians will be able to place bets on their favorite teams in many of this year’s college basketball conference tournaments, including men’s tournaments in the ACC, Conference USA, the MEAC, and the AAC, as well as throughout the men’s and women’s NCAA tournaments,” NC Lottery Commission Chair Ripley Rand said in a release. “Bets on sporting events have been made for as long as those events have taken place, but this time they will be legal, they will be done securely and fairly, and they will be made under rules designed to encourage responsible gaming.”
Progress toward NC sports betting
Regulators are performing background checks for licenses in North Carolina, according to an update during the meeting.
Once the licenses are awarded, sportsbooks will need to secure a Certificate of Compliance. Regulators laid out the requirements and process for the certificate earlier this month.
Once obtained, the operators will be allowed to accept user deposits starting March 1. The full launch on March 11 is in time for the ACC Basketball Tournament and March Madness betting.
NC sports betting dance partners
There are 11 available licenses connected to sports organizations in the state. The two tribes that operate in-person sportsbooks are also allowed to secure an online license.
Nine applicants have emerged in the Tar Heel State. Those nine operators and their partners are:
- Bet365 (NBA’s Charlotte Hornets)
- BetMGM (Charlotte Motor Speedway)
- DraftKings (NASCAR)
- ESPN Bet (Quail Hollow Club)
- Fanatics (NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes)
- FanDuel (PGA Tour)
- Underdog (Sedgefield Country Club)
- Catawba Two Kings Casino
- Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (partnered with Caesars)
Remaining partners available in North Carolina
Eighteen operators requested applications, according to Carpenter. Four partners are remaining:
- Carolina Panthers of the NFL
- Charlotte FC of MLS
- NC Courage of the NWSL
- North Wilkesboro Speedway
North Carolina path to launch
Gov. Roy Cooper signed online sports betting legislation in June 2023. Regulators made little progress on rules until September, when legislators amended the law.
The lawmakers changed the law to require written agreements with sports organizations to qualify for a license.
Cooper said earlier this year he hoped for a launch in time for the NCAA Tournament.
