Legal online NC sports betting begins March 11, meaning professional athletes playing in the Tar Heel State will have a heightened need to understand league rules and regulations.
Each major North American sports league has its own set of sports betting guidelines for players. Also, each franchise has an NC sports betting partnership with a different sportsbook:
- Charlotte Hornets with bet365
- Carolina Panthers with FanDuel Sportsbook
- Carolina Hurricanes with Fanatics Sportsbook
NC sports betting rules by sport
All players in the NHL, NBA and NFL are prohibited from betting on their respective sport.
However, they are eligible to wager on other sports.
Nevertheless, players in all three leagues are also prohibited from divulging confidential information such as injuries and lineup structure.
NFL: Do not gamble while at work
The NFL is unique in that it prohibits all forms of gambling while at work.
That means no betting at the practice facility, stadium, team hotel, charter plane or bus.
The league did elect to amend its gambling policy during the season by reducing suspensions for betting inside team facilities from six games to two games.
NFLPA seeks ‘outdated’ rule changes
However, NFL Players Association vice president Calais Campbell recently spoke out against the rule, which he feels is “outdated.”
“It’s all about protecting the game, and keeping the integrity of the game, sure,” Campbell said last month. “But when it comes to gambling, we’re on a away trip and I’m on a flight, and I decided to go out to dinner and basketball games are playing, and guys want to bet on the basketball game. I don’t see the harm in that.
“If you pull up your phone and do a little $5 bet on the top or whatever. Where does it hurt anybody? And I don’t even do that during season at all, because I know the rest of it and stuff like that. So I delete the apps off my phone and wait until the season ends before I ever download it back. But that’s just outdated rules. And for me, I feel like we have too many smart people who are involved in this process. Why can’t we get that fixed?”
NHL lacks transparency on bans
The NHL has not been as transparent on suspensions as the NFL. Shane Pinto became the first NHL player in the legal sports betting era to be banned for violating the league’s gambling policy.
However, due to a negotiated deal with the NHLPA, exact details of what Pinto did to deserve his 41-game suspension remain a mystery. The NHL did say there was no evidence that Pinto wagered on any NHL games.
“We we were told in (the Shane Pinto) situation is that there were not any integrity issues,” US Integrity founder and CEO Matthew Holt told LSR.
NBA allows for gambling investments
NBA players may endorse and invest in betting sites and daily fantasy sports companies.
As of this season, under the new Collective Bargaining Agreement:
- Players may participate in sports betting or fantasy sports endorsement which involves general brand endorsement or endorsement of betting on non-NBA sports.
- They also may hold passive, non-controlling interest in sports betting or fantasy companies. That is restricted to less than 1% stake for companies that offer or facilitate NBA bets or contests.
