The Tar Heel State is ramping up for the March 11 launch of online sports betting.
The North Carolina Lottery Commission approved several items on Wednesday that could have some operators licensed by March 1, when customers can begin pre-registering.
“We are continuing to make significant strides towards putting all the different pieces together and being prepared for the successful launch of sports and pari-mutuel wagering on March 11, which is not that far off,” Commission Chair Ripley Rand said during Wednesday’s meeting.
Rand said the lottery commission has had “two years of meetings in the last six months” to get online sports betting started in time for college basketball’s March Madness.
Two new suppliers have been approved and join a list of 14 more that have received provisional licenses to work with operators, according to an update from deputy executive director of sports betting Sterl Carpenter.
Carpenter added that his staff has had several meetings with operators to work toward certificates of compliance to complete this process by the end of next week.
Tar Heel State regulators have received nine license applications from operators including DraftKings, FanDuel, bet365, Fanatics Sportsbook, BetMGM, Caesars, ESPN BET, Underdog, and Two Kings Catawba.
Caesars is set
The lottery commission made it easier for Caesars to obtain a license with one of the passed approvals on Wednesday. A Tribal Gaming Agreement will go into effect, allowing tribes to operate sports betting off of the reservations and be regulated like commercial sportsbooks.
The Eastern Band of Cherokees, who run two land-based casinos in the Tar Heel State, have a partnership with Caesars. The Catawba, who operates a casino near the North Carolina-South Carolina border, has applied for a license but has not announced a partnership and expects to start operating at a later date than March 11.
The commission also approved sports betting committee recommendations for operator compliance forms, which are needed to grant licenses, and a voluntary self-exclusion program set to go into effect next month.
Don't bet on it
The lottery commission approved a recommendation and penalties from the operations and personnel committee that prohibits commission members, lottery employees, and their immediate family members from sports and horse racing wagers in North Carolina or anywhere else a Tar Heel State-licensed sportsbook operates.
Rand said he was pleased that the vote was unanimous and thanked the commission for its commitment to the “highest levels of integrity and transparency" in the gaming industry.
"I am proud that North Carolina will continue to be a national leader in this regard,” Rand said. “As each day goes and each meeting goes, I’m looking more and more forward to the launch of sports betting and pari-mutuel wagering here in the state.”
