Sports Betting Closes in on Becoming a Reality in North Carolina

Assuming there are no last-minute glitches, it looks like North Carolina will become the first state to open sports betting windows in 2024. When that will likely take place is still up for discussion. However, recent activities are making it possible for North Carolina residents to start betting on sports by the first quarter of 2024. The February 11 Super Bowl date is even a small possibility.

This news came out of a December 13 meeting of the North Carolina Lottery Commission. It was during that meeting that lottery officials were able to dot the final i's and cross the final t's related to the rules by which sports betting in the state will be controlled.

Second Draft of Rules Approved

This was the second round of the rules approval process. This round addressed open items that weren't addressed during the first time round.

With a sense of urgency the call of the day, lawmakers were motivated to get this done before the holidays. After lengthy discussions, everything that was put on the table received unanimous support with one exception. It's noteworthy that the second round focused a lot on responsible gambling initiatives and marketing restrictions.

There was one item that led to heated debate during the public hearing part of the meeting. That issue was related to the interactions between mobile sports betting operators and their marketing affiliates. Due to the contention that this discussion drew, everyone was in agreement that the applicable paragraph needed to be deleted. It was, prompting the final approval of all of the rules as set forth by the sports gambling committee.

Attention Turns to Operator Licensing

With the rules in place, attention will now move to the operator licensing process. Prospective mobile sports betting operators will need to submit their applications by no later than December 27, 2023. The application deadline is also applicable to software vendors.

Based on the approved sports betting legislation. the Lottery Commission will have 90 days from December 27 to process applications. If they were to adhere to this final deadline, NC sports betting windows could be open by late March.

With Duke, North Carolina, and North Carolina State likely to make it to March Madness, there is ample motivation to expedite the approval process if possible. That's something that would be very pleasing to a state that loves its college basketball.

Here's the best-case scenario. Applications will surely be received by the top sports betting operators in the U.S. In such cases, the due diligence process should be easy because said operators are already well-versed on what's needed for approval. If the Lottery Commission were to be willing to expedite the application approval process for at least some key operators, the Commission could wave the green flag in early March.

By the Super Bowl? That seems very unlikely. By the start of NCAA BB March Madness? That definitely falls in line with a possibility. NC residents can look forward to getting more information from the Commission after the start of the new year.