Duke-North Carolina Basketball Game Tips Off March 9. Will Mobile Sports Betting Be Live?
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A March “go-live” date appears possible for mobile sports betting in North Carolina, though it’s unclear whether that will happen in time for the University of North Carolina-Duke regular season basketball finale on March 9.
State officials have not set a mobile start date yet, but betting could begin sometime in March, said Brian Murphy, a sports investigative reporter at WRAL-TV in Raleigh.
“All signs are pointing toward a March start date,” Murphy told Gambling.com this week.
Whether it will happen in time for the potential Top 10 UNC-Duke clash on March 9 is up in the air.
Governor Wants March Madness Start Date
Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat and UNC graduate, has expressed interest in seeing mobile sports betting begin in time for the March Madness basketball tournament. Selection Sunday for the men’s tournament is March 17.
Currently, the North Carolina State Lottery Commission is going through a process to approve mobile sports-betting companies that have applied to operate in the state.
No mobile sports betting operators have been approved yet.
The commission’s Sports Betting Committee is next scheduled to meet Jan. 30 at 11 a.m. ET. The full commission, which regulates sports betting in the state, meets again on Feb. 7 at 11 a.m. ET.
Those meetings could result in discussions about a possible go-live date.
Ground Zero For College Basketball
North Carolina is home to teams in the major professional sports leagues, but the state is especially noted for its passionate college basketball fans.
The intense rivalry between the Duke Blue Devils and North Carolina Tar Heels always stirs emotions across the state.
Currently, both teams are ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll — North Carolina (13-3) at No. 4 and Duke (13-3) at No. 7.
The teams play each other Feb 3 on the Tar Heels’ home court in Chapel Hill before facing off again March 9 on the Duke campus in Durham.
By Feb. 3, mobile sports betting is not expected to be live, but the regular season finale on March 9 at Duke’s Cameron Indoor Stadium is closer to the March Madness date the governor wants.
March College Basketball Dates
Below are key NCAA basketball dates likely to attract interest among North Carolina sports bettors.
March 9: University of North Carolina at Duke
March 12-16: ACC Men’s basketball tournament at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.
NCAA Men’s March Madness basketball tournament
March 19-20: First four
March 21-22: First round
March 28-29: Sweet 16
March 30-31: Elite Eight
April 6: Final Four in Glendale, Arizona
April 8: NCAA championship game in Glendale, Arizona.
Sources: Duke, ACC, NCAA websites
Betting Age Set At 21
Once mobile sports wagering is live North Carolina, people who are 21 and over will be able to use computers or cellphone apps to bet legally on college and pro games.
After mobile sports betting begins, in-person wagering at brick-and-mortar sportsbooks will start at an undetermined later date.
In some states, gaming regulators have worked to legalize sports betting in time for major events.
In Louisiana, for instance, where football is popular, Gaming Control Board Chairman Ronnie Johns told Gambling.com the state’s in-person and mobile sports betting launches coincided with key football games.
The most heavily wagered sporting event in the nation usually is the NFL Super Bowl, set this year for Feb. 11 at Allegiant Stadium just west of the Las Vegas Strip.
North Carolina officials have indicated a Super Bowl start date for mobile sports betting is unlikely.
Although commercial sports betting has not begun in North Carolina, it is available at three tribal casinos with sportsbooks: Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort, Harrah’s Cherokee Valley River Casino, and Catawba Two Kings Casino.
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