The first seven sportsbooks are in just in time for the Tar Heel State’s pre-registration.
One day before users can start signing up for online sports betting, the North Carolina Lottery Commission announced Thursday that operating licenses were approved for FanDuel, BetMGM, DraftKings, ESPN BET, bet365, Underdog, and Fanatics Sportsbook.
The commission then issued an eighth interactive license to Tribal Casino Gaming Enterprise, of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.
Caesars formed a partnership with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians which run two Harrah’s casinos in Western North Carolina. Caesars applied for and received a provider license from the commission.
The Tar Heel State’s go-live date is March 11.
“Issuing the first interactive sports wagering operator licenses today represents a major milestone in establishing legal sports betting in North Carolina,” commission chair Ripley Rand said. “North Carolinians can begin signing up for accounts on their mobile devices on Friday with the confidence they will soon be able to make wagers on their favorite sporting events securely and responsibly.
"We’re just 11 days away from the start of sports betting in North Carolina and we will be working every day between now and then to see that our launch is a successful one.”
Online sports betting gets going in a college basketball-centric state in time for conference tournaments and the NCAA’s big March Madness event.
Two Kings, a tribal casino run by the Catawba Nation, has applied for a mobile license, but it hasn’t partnered with a sportsbook operator and will not begin offering mobile betting on March 11. It is, however, one of the three in-person sportsbooks currently operating in the state.
The North Carolina-regulated retail sportsbooks connected to eight sports venues will not begin on March 11 and are on a tiered launch.
Getting started
As of Thursday, the lottery commission has approved three full supplier licenses and 18 provisional supplier licenses as well as three provider licenses to go with the eight operators.
North Carolina sports betting customers aged 21 and over can download apps or visit the sportsbooks’ site on Friday. They can provide their name, address, and social security number for identification to get signed up and be ready to go when online wagering begins.
