Sports betting is expanding across North Carolina, so the state issued sports wagering licenses to eight operators. The operators will be able to offer their services in less than two weeks, and users will be able to place their bets on both mobile phones and computers.

North Carolina opens its doors to online sports betting:

The law that approved sports betting in the state passed in 2023, and after that, the North Carolina State Lottery Commission, whose duty is to oversee gambling in the state, was established. The Commission now revealed that the first applications were received, and the operators will be able to start operating in North Carolina soon.

According to the Associated Press, the operators will be able to offer their services from March 11, and at noon on that date, the operations will be launched. The date is carefully chosen, since the Atlantic Coast Conference men’s basketball tournament begins on March 12. All customers older than 21 will be able to register from Friday, March 11, and make monetary deposits.

The customers will be able to place their bets on a range of professional sports, as well as on college and Olympic-style sports.

Ripley Rand, a Commission Chair, said that this decision “represents a major milestone in establishing legal sports betting in North Carolina.”

From the beginning, seven operators have already been known: BETMGM, Underdog Sports Wagering, FanDuel, Sportsbook, DraftKings, Fanatics Sportsbook, bet365, and ESPN Bet. One more operator was added to the list later: the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ entity, which already operates two casinos in the western part of the state and has a license for in-person sports gambling.

Caesars Entertainment will be in charge of supplying.

On top of that, the Catawba Indian Nation submitted an application. The tribe already operates the casino located west of Charlotte and has permission to offer in-person sports betting in the state.

More opportunities for operators:

In total, the state will grant 13 licenses, so more operators can submit their applications, and the license will cost $1 million.

According to the new law, the operators who have licenses for in-person betting will also be allowed to offer their services beyond the casinos, but the details about other possible locations are still unknown. 

In order to accomplish that, the operators from the state were obliged to partner with at least one of the state’s professional teams, pro golf, or automobile racing venues. There was also a possibility to partner with governing bodies. Some deals are public as well.

As the American Gambling Association reports, sports betting is now available in 30 states, including new markets in North Carolina and the District of Columbia.

A legislative branch analysis conducted research about tax revenue. Predictions are that online sports betting will bring more than $100 million in tax revenues annually during the following five years.