Gov. Roy Cooper has officially made sports betting legal in North Carolina.
As reported by ABC11, the governor signed House Bill 347 Wednesday morning (June 14) at Charlotte’s Spectrum Center.
The bill, which goes into effect next year, allows online betting on college, pro, and other sports. It will also create eight in-person sportsbooks at venues across the state and allocate money for gambling addiction programs.
Betting can begin as early as January 2024. However, the NC Lottery Commission, which will oversee the new gambling options, has until June 2024 to open betting.
Under the bill, the commission will be in charge of regulating sports wagering and being responsible for issuing licenses and collecting any license application fees. Licenses will be valid for five years and types of licenses include interactive sports wagering licenses, service provider licenses and sports wagering supplier licenses.
Until the new law goes into effect, legal sports gambling in the state is only available at our three casinos, operated by two of NC’s American Indian tribes.
