The North Carolina State Lottery Commission has formed a committee to lay the ground rules for a NC sports betting launch that is slated to occur in the first half of next year.
Setting Policies
Despite the deluge of states that have flocked to dine at the sports betting table, North Carolina is late to the party but inching towards the dining room as it prepares to put in place policies and procedures for its upcoming sports betting industry.
North Carolina State Lottery Commission Chairman Ripley Rand, along with fellow commissioners Cari Boyce and Pamela Whitaker, sit on the special sports betting oversight committee with Boyce chairing the body. “We’ve determined that putting an individual committee to deal with sports betting issues that don’t fit neatly into the other committees… is an effective way to move things forward with sports betting,” Rand said.
The first meeting of the newly formed committee gathered earlier this week and lasted only half an hour. However, discussions concerning the licensing process, definitions of terms peculiar to the sports betting industry, and other relatively benign topics form the basis of the blueprint for prospective licensees and stakeholders.
“The proposed rules before you are only a preliminary portion of the extensive rules that staff will propose to the commission,” said Sterl Carpenter, the lottery’s deputy executive director of gaming compliance and sports betting.
Deadlines
The next step will occur on October 27th at 9:00 AM when speakers, who must register in advance, will be allowed to voice their opinions on the process and proposed rules while allowing for a public comment session. Those comments can continue until November 1st.
As for the application process itself, the Lottery Commission solicited bids on an electronic system but was not impressed with the four bids that were rendered. “Therefore, the evaluation committee recommended, and the executive director agreed, that it is in the best interest of the commission and the state not to award a contract at this time,” said Carpenter.
As of this moment, the commission will oversee the license application but is seeking an approved third party to facilitate licenses in the future that will “serve the agency for the long term,” added Carpenter.
Carpenter noted that the first meeting of the committee this week was an important step in bringing sports betting to the masses on schedule and commented, “Importantly, this means we are on track to meet our statutory deadline.”
When Should We Expect the Launch?
The proposed launch of sports betting in the Tar Heel State is scheduled to occur in the first half of 2024, but two enormous sports betting events will commence on February 11th, when the Super Bowl kicks off, and March 18th signaling the start of the men’s college basketball tournament, also known as March Madness.
If the launch occurs near the deadline of June 2024, then the state will forego the revenue those events generate.
Bookmakers Review will continue to monitor this story and update our readers as events unfold.
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