North Carolina’s plan to debut sports wagering on January 8, 2023, has hit a snag. The state’s gambling regulator failed to meet the deadline due to ongoing discussions about licensing and new rules. The North Carolina Lottery Commission has until June 15, 2023, to officially launch sports wagering.
During a meeting on November 14, the Commission’s sports betting Committee stated that the January 8 deadline was unfeasible. Sterl Carpenter, the state’s deputy executive director of sports wagering and gaming compliance, emphasized that there are several steps that need to be taken before gambling can officially begin in North Carolina.
Operators looking to apply for licenses are required to undergo an investigation and submit to internal controls. They must also prove that they are not accepting bets from individuals outside of the state’s borders or from tribal and federal lands within the state.
Additionally, operators need to have a “written designation agreement” with certain state leagues, teams, and facilities. However, no establishments have yet revealed an alliance with a sports wagering operator.
Mobile sports betting was officially validated earlier in 2023 when Governor Roy Cooper signed the legislation into law. The Commission has confirmed a catalog of events that may be wagered on, but operators are not obligated to offer bets on every single one of them.
The Commission is set to have another meeting on November 16 to approve a set of regulations and the catalog of events available for sports wagering. The spokesperson for the Lottery Commission, Van Denton, stated that they remain committed to ensuring that sports betting gets up and running in an effective and appropriate fashion as soon as possible, and are on track to achieve that ahead of the June 15 deadline identified in the law.