No ‘Go Live’ Date Yet For North Carolina Mobile Sports Betting, But Mobile Comes Before In-Person
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No date has been set for when statewide mobile sports betting will begin in North Carolina, but mobile wagering will begin before people will be able to place bets in person at brick-and-mortar sportsbooks, a state gaming official said Thursday.
At a North Carolina Sports Betting Committee meeting, Sterl Carpenter, deputy executive director for gaming compliance and sports betting, reviewed the seven mobile wagering operators that have applied for a license.
The operators have not been approved, nor is there is a date for when bettors legally can use mobile apps and computers to bet on sports, Carpenter noted. However, mobile sports betting will begin before people will be able to walk into a commercial sportsbook and place a bet at a ticket window. No date has been set for in-person sports betting.
Mobile Operators Awating State Approval
During Thursday’s brief meeting, Carpenter displayed a computer slide showing the seven mobile sports betting operators that have applied for a North Carolina license. They are:
- Betfair Interactive U.S. (Doing business as FanDuel Sportsbook)
- BetMGM
- Crown N.C. Gaming (DBA DraftKings)
- FBG Enterprises North Carolina (DBA Fanatics Betting & Gaming)
- Hillside North Carolina (DBA Bet365)
- Penn Sports Interactive
- Underdog Sports Wagering
These seven submitted applications before the Dec. 27 deadline. The Penn Sports application will operate under the ESPN BET brand. Others can apply for a license but won’t be allowed to begin when the launch occurs, officials have said.
Governor Sets March Madness As Goal
By law, commercial sports betting cannot begin before next Monday but has a June 15 "go live" deadline. State officials have previously said the Jan. 8 date is occurring too soon and is out of the question as a date for mobile wagering to begin.
Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, has set the NCAA March Madness basketball tournament as the goal for launching mobile wagering.
The men’s tournament tips off March 19-20 in Dayton, Ohio. The Final Four matchups are April 6 in Phoenix, with the national championship game slated for April 8 in Arizona’s capital city.
North Carolina has long been a hotbed for college basketball. Two of the state’s traditional NCAA powerhouses are in the Associated Press Top 25 poll — the North Carolina Tar Heels (9-3) at No. 8 and the Duke Blue Devils (9-3) at No. 14.
Nationwide, the most heavily wagered event is the NFL’s Super Bowl, which is scheduled to be played this year on Feb. 11 in Las Vegas at Allegiant Stadium just west of the Strip.
Given the short timeframe, commercial sports betting will not be up and running in North Carolina in time for legal Super Bowl betting, according to published reports.
Currently, however, in-person sports betting is legal at three tribal casinos in North Carolina: Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort, Harrah’s Cherokee Valley River Casino and Catawba Two Kings Casino.
Full Commission Meets Next Week
A discussion regarding sports betting launch dates could occur when the full North Carolina State Lottery Commission next meets on Wednesday at 10 a.m. ET. The commission oversees sports betting in the state.
The commission’s Sports Betting Committee meeting on Thursday was brief, resulting in one vote to approve internal controls for operators and another to approve two test labs.
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