NC Lottery Commission approves legal sports betting, set to begin in March
RALEIGH, NC (WWAY) — Legal sports wagering will begin in North Carolina on March 11.
On Wednesday, the North Carolina State Lottery Commission approved the Sports Wagering Authorization, which allows anyone who is at least twenty-one years old and has established accounts with a licensed operator, to begin placing bets on licensed sports wagering platforms as of noon on March 11.
The Authorization also sets Friday, March 1, as the date when licensed operators can begin registering accounts for new players and accepting account deposits.
Before offering bets or registering new players, interactive sports wagering operators must obtain a license and receive a certificate of compliance issued by the Commission.
No licenses or certificates of compliance have yet been approved. Currently, the commission is reviewing nine applications for interactive sports wagering operators.
The operators being reviewed include Fanduel, Draftkings, BETMGM, ESPN BET, and Underdog Sportsbook
Steve Bittenbender is an analyst for BetCarolina.com and said while it’s great that people will be able to place bets in North Carolina, there will be protections in place to keep them safe.
“It’s going to give important consumer protections. If you were betting with an offshore book and they decided not to pay you, you really had no recourse,” Bittenbender said. “Here, something like that happens, you can go to the state lottery commission and they can investigate and they can try to rectify the situation.”
The benefits of sports betting will be felt on the field and courts as well, as UNC Wilmington is expected to receive some of the tax revenue collected from sports betting.
“This will enable us to, to enhance a lot of the things that we probably had to pull back on, whether its programming or scholarship support and what not,” Michael Oblinger, UNCW’s Athletic Director said. “I think we’re really gonna be able to bolster those things and really make some enhancements in a lot of areas that touch our student-athletes.”
