North Carolina is in about as good shape as ever to finally introduce legal sports betting.
After coming up a vote short in Tar Heel State last year, new faces in the legislature for 2023 have developed a strong belief that Senate Bill 688 — the bill that would ultimately set up sports betting in North Carolina — could soon pass.
The bill, which is expected to be introduced to legislation this week, still needs work, but it calls for the North Carolina Lottery Education Fund to issue 10-12 sports betting licenses and introduce the Tar Heel State to online sports betting sites for the first time.
SB 688 also calls for retail sportsbooks at pro sports venues with a capacity of at least 17,000 and at PGA Tour events.
“Many North Carolinians bet on sports today, and keeping it illegal in parts of North Carolina unfairly criminalizes an activity that is legal in most other states,” Sen. Jim Perry, one of the sponsors of the bill, told The Carolina Journal earlier this month.
“Recent studies indicate sports betting would provide over $50 million for important state programs. I don’t bet on sports, and that was my decision to make. If an adult enjoys doing so, that should be their choice.”
Gov. Roy Cooper has publicly stated he believes the bill will pass.
Three tribal casinos in N.C. currently offer legal retail sportsbooks, but the state has flirted with expanding the options since 2021 when the bill initially made it through the Senate. It died, however, in the House last year during the state’s two-year wraparound session.
Big business for North Carolina
Legislators believe N.C. could generate between $8 and $24 million in tax revenue per year for the state by giving sports bettors options beyond the tribal casinos.
North Carolina would join neighboring states with this expansion. Tennessee and Virginia both have mobile sports betting, so it would keep N.C. residents close to those states from taking their business outside.
Neither South Carolina nor Georgia offers any legal sports betting, and the Tar Heel State could benefit from a population that lives and works around those borders.
