Regulated sports betting and horse racing should begin in North Carolina in the first half of next year after Gov. Roy Cooper signed legislation into law Wednesday that vastly expands gambling opportunities in the ninth-largest state.
The Democratic governor held the signing ceremony for the bill at the Spectrum Center, home of the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets. It could host one of several advance sportsbooks allowed at or near professional sports venues as part of the law that received final passage in the Republican-controlled General Assembly last week.
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The new law says betting could start as early as January 8, but through mid-June 2024, which will bring new revenue for the state and what supporters hope will lead to new jobs and stronger professional sports franchises in the state.
Roy Cooper waves to supporters during an election party hosted by the North Carolina Democratic Party at the Raleigh Marriott City Center in downtown Raleigh, NC on Tuesday, November 8, 2016. (Ethan Hyman/Raleigh News & OBserver/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
«This is a historic moment for the state of North Carolina and will benefit our economy for generations to come,» Cooper said at the ceremony.
The law directs the North Carolina Lottery Commission to issue up to 12 interactive sports betting licenses to entities that offer online and mobile sports betting to customers who create accounts.
Runners and jockeys compete in the Unibet/British Stallion Studs EBF Fillies’ Novice Stakes at Kempton Park on June 14, 2023 in Sunbury, England. (Clive Rose/Getty Images)
But anyone over the age of 21 could also place cash bets on professional, college or Olympic-type sports at the eight potential in-person betting venues associated with stadiums, arenas, golf courses and racetracks.
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North Carolina will become the 28th state where mobile sports betting takes place or has been licensed, according to the American Gaming Association. Horse racing gambling would be allowed through separate licenses and accounts.
Legal sports betting in North Carolina is currently only available at the state’s three casinos, which are operated by two American Indian tribes. Essentially the only other legal game in the state is a lottery that started in 2006.
Neighbors Tennessee and Virginia already allow mobile sports betting, drawing North Carolinians across state lines to gamble. According to supporters of the bill, regulating and taxing sports betting is the best way to control gambling that would otherwise take place clandestinely or through offshore accounts.
The bill moved forward this year despite opposition from a coalition of social conservatives and liberals who said the extra revenue paled in comparison to the damage further gambling addiction would do to families and society.
Governor Roy Cooper leaves the House chamber after delivering his State of the State address to a joint session of the North Carolina General Assembly on Monday, March 6, 2023. (Travis Long/The News & Observer/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
A similar political alliance derailed sports betting legislation last year by just one vote in the House, but lobbyists for legal sports betting providers in other states and professional sports franchises kept pushing the idea and gained more support in the legislature. .
The defeat «gave us an opportunity to work harder» and build support for the measure this year, Rep. Jason Saine, a Lincoln County Republican and the bill’s main sponsor, said at the ceremony. «We got through it and we’re very happy to do it.»
The legislation will tax sports betting at a rate equal to 18% of gross betting revenue less distributed winnings. Legislative analysts estimate it will generate more than $100 million in sports betting taxes annually within five years, resulting in $71 million in net revenue for state coffers.
Much of the sports betting tax revenue would go toward state, regional, and local athletic initiatives, athletic programs at most schools in the University of North Carolina system, and problem gambling programs. Cooper said Wednesday that he hoped more future profits would help public education.
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The law also authorizes the commission to establish rules for live horse racing.