North Carolinians who were hoping to get down on Super Sunday were saddened to hear there will be no mobile wagering in the Tar Heel State until after the Super Bowl. Let’s go through some of the issues delaying sports betting in North Carolina.
Step By Step
Too many regulatory steps left to be taken is the reason being given as to why mobile sports betting in North Carolina won’t be available in time for the Super Bowl. Although no definite timetable has been given, we can deduce that digital sports betting will occur sometime after the Super Bowl (Sunday, February 11th) and before June 14th, 2024, which is exactly one year from the date the governor signed the expanded sports betting legislation into law.
According to the latest reports, December 27th is when the commission is planning on receiving the license applications, and from there it will have 60 days to review and vet those submissions.
Timeline and Process
Commission chair Ripley Rand, stated, “We know the betting public is very interested in knowing the day that bets can be made in North Carolina. There are a number of factors in determining what that date will be and only then can we set a date. However, approving the application is a big step in moving the process forward.
“We hope applications will be filed with the Commission before 27 December and we can review that information. We then have until June 2024 to complete that process.”
Sterl Carpenter, the lottery’s deputy executive director of gaming compliance and sports betting, said, “The commission and its staff have a year from the passage of the sports betting law to get betting up and running. Because of the variables involved in the process, it is too early to set a start date for sports betting in North Carolina at this time.”
Hornets & Bet365 Sign Pact
Although no mobile sports betting provider has officially entered the North Carolina market, it didn’t stop the UK bookmaker, Bet365, from entering a 10-year sponsorship agreement with the Charlotte Hornets as the team’s official sports betting partner.
The deal will allow Bet365 signage throughout Spectrum Stadium, as well as the team’s app and on its site. But it is also a preemptive strike by the mobile sportsbook to fulfill a provision of North Carolina’s sports betting law that requires any licensed book to partner with one of the approved professional teams, events, or venues in the state, of which the Hornets are one.
Prioritizing Mobile Experience Over Retail
But one thing you won’t see, at least for the time being, is a Bet365 retail sportsbook in the team’s facility. That may change but for now, it is not a priority according to Hornets COO Jacob Gallagher:
“You’re not going to see that in our building now. As we continue to grow the partnership and have conversations, that might change. But, for either of us, we really want to make sure that our fans have the best user experience in their hand, and they can place bets that way.”
Gallagher added, “When we look at a retail sportsbook, and we talk to other teams and we talk to Bet365, right now, with this being a mobile sports-betting license where people can bet on their phones, the retail sportsbook wasn’t a priority for us. You’re not going to see that in our building now.
“As we continue to grow the partnership and have conversations, that might change. But, for either of us, we really want to make sure that our fans have the best user experience in their hand, and they can place bets that way.”
Calculators
