North Carolina sports betting could finally become a reality, after attempts to bring it to the state last year.
Rep. Jason Saine’s sports betting bill, HB 347, was solidly passed by a vote of 66-45 in the state’s House of Representatives and will now advance to the Senate where it stands a good chance of being approved.
Better Than Last Year
Two sports betting bills were introduced last year with one passing by a 51-50 margin while the other failed by an identical margin, 51-50. And the arguments against sports betting ranged from the possibility of student-athletes being corrupted to opposition predicated on religious grounds.
“Why do that to sport, which is supposed to be pure and it’s supposed to be honest?” Rep. Marcia Morey, a former Olympic swimmer, and former NCAA investigator said. “Putting gambling on top of that makes gambling the spotlight, and it puts the event in the shadow.”
Following that, Representative Larry Pittman illustrated that the holy rollers in the Tar Heel State are alive and well. “The one opinion that matters to me, the one judgment to me that matters, is what does Jesus think?” Rep. Larry Pittman asked. “It’s very clear from His word what he thinks of these two bills, and I’m gonna be on his side and vote ‘No.’”
But that was last year and although there were still facets of opposition, a year’s worth of looking at other states raking in big sports betting bucks has likely changed the outlook of some opponents. This year Representative Jason Saine’s HB 347 passed the House by 21 votes and the Senate will likely be even friendlier to the bill, setting the stage for Governor Roy Cooper, a sports betting advocate, to sign it into law.
College Sports Included
Last year an amendment to one of the sports betting bills excluded college sports which essentially killed any chance that it had of succeeding. North Carolina is home to several high-echelon college sports teams including Duke, North Carolina, NC State, and Wake Forest to name a few.
College sports betting has been known to attract as much money as professional sports, especially in states that are a hotbed of college football and basketball like North Carolina.
The bill calls for up to a dozen mobile licenses with licenses costing $1 million. Native American tribes operating casinos in the state would be eligible for a mobile license. There would be a 14% tax levied on all operators’ revenue and promotional deductions would initially be allowed but gradually decreased and ultimately sunsetted in 2027.
Proposal to Exclude Deductions
However, there was an amendment put forth to eliminate the promotional deductions entirely but that has been proven to be short-sighted thinking because the platform providers use enticements to create interest and ultimately maximize the number of customers which congruently optimizes the tax revenue generated because of it.
Excluding deductions means the operators will do less promoting causing fewer people to sign up because there is less of an incentive to do so. Rep. Jeff McNeely, a supporter of the sports betting bill and an opponent of the amendment stated, “I think if we had an amendment where you could not win a bet or lose a bet, that may be what might please y’all, but we don’t have that, so I ask you to vote ‘no’ on this amendment.”
The Senate still needs to review and vote on the bill but there could be additional amendments to it during the process. The North Carolina Lottery will be in charge should the bill pass and the hope is that North Carolina will have mobile sports betting up and running in January 2024, shortly before the Super Bowl.
*Bookmakers Review will continue to monitor this story and update our readers as events unfold.
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