The North Carolina Senate has passed a bill that would bring online sports betting to the Tar Heel State.
Senate Bill 688 passed its third and final reading in the chamber on Thursday, by a bipartisan vote of 26 to 19 in its favor. The proposed legislation now heads to North Carolina’s House of Representatives for further debate and study.
If ultimately passed by the House (and without any changes that would require the Senate to take another look), the bill would then be sent to Gov. Roy Cooper, who could sign it into law. Cooper, a Democrat, appears to be leaning towards approving the legislation.
“With the internet, people are doing it, and it’s very difficult for law enforcement to stop it. So, we might as well control it and get the revenue from it,” Cooper told WRAL News in July.
NC SPORTS BETTING: A bill that would regulate sports gambling across North Carolina and give the state a piece of the revenues is finally getting a hearing in the legislature. https://t.co/8QwQYAKlQL
— FOX 46 Charlotte (@FOX46News) August 4, 2021
While North Carolina allows retail sports betting in the state at the three brick-and-mortar casinos of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and the Catawba Indian Nation, everywhere else in the state it's illegal.
SB 688 would change that starting in 2022 by allowing sports betting over the internet and in person, including at professional sports venues. The bill sets out that betting would be allowed by those 21 and older on professional sports, college sports, esports, and anything else approved by the North Carolina State Lottery Commission.
The commission would be in charge of regulation and would issue between 10 and 12 interactive sports wagering licenses for operators. The licenses would have five-year terms and application fees of $500,000.
Both the Cherokee (whose two casinos are managed by Caesars Sportsbook-owner Caesars Entertainment Inc.) and the Catawba could apply for one of the new sports-betting licenses as well. However, those permits wouldn't count against the current cap of 12 licenses.
"If there are more than 12 applicants, the Commission, in its discretion, must select the most qualified applicants," an assembly analysis of the bill notes.
Sportsbook operators would be taxed eight percent of their adjusted gross revenue, which would be what's left over after paying winners and deducting promotional credits and excise tax payments to the federal government. Fifty percent of the tax collected from sports wagering would go to a new North Carolina Major Events, Games, and Attractions Fund, which, as its name suggests, would try to attract major events to the state.
A challenging market to crack
North Carolina is the ninth-most populous state in the U.S., making it a sizable market that could prove attractive for sportsbook operators. The state's sporting tastes also run a bit different from others, such as a bigger NASCAR fanbase than some of its peers.
Yet the vote in the Senate is another reminder that widespread sports betting is by no means a slam dunk in North Carolina, which has its fair share of social conservatives. Opponents of SB 688 are likely to chime in again.
“In addition to harming individual lives, marriages, and families, Senate Bill 688 will also degrade our state, which has an incredibly rich heritage in collegiate, amateur, and professional sports,” North Carolina Family Policy Council President John Rustin warned a legislative committee earlier this month.
Now, though, SB 688 is the House's problem. The chamber is scheduled to meet again on Monday, and, like the Senate, is controlled by Republicans.
