Online Sports Betting Becoming A North Carolina Reality
Folks, I’ve got some news for you. There are two “evils” in the world (for some) that are going to be a part of life in North Carolina. Eventually, whether you like it or not, marijuana manufacture and distribution will be legal. And sooner than that, legalized online sports betting will be a thing in the Tar Heel State. I can almost see my mother’s ultra-conservative head about to explode with those two statements. Here’s the deal, regardless of how you feel morally (and I get it), the tax revenue of legalizing these two industries alone should make you want to be on the right side of history here.
Last week House Bill 347 passed in the North Carolina House of Representatives 64-45. It now heads to the Senate, which has already approved a sports betting bill in 2021. Further, Governor Roy Cooper has already said he will sign it. And he should. Legal sports betting could generate $28.6 million in the first 18 months. WOW! Here’s what the bill entails per Axios Charlotte:
- It allows betting on college sports, the Olympics, e-sports and pro sports for people 21 and older.
- It forbids betting on youth sports, high school sports and horse racing.
- The state will authorize 10-12 “interactive sports wagering operators” (sportsbooks) and tax them 14%.
- That money would go to athletic departments at public colleges and a new fund to attract major sporting events to the state, per WRAL.
- If signed into law, the measure would take effect Jan. 8, 2024 — the day of the College Football National Championship game.
Rep. Jason Saine, a Lincoln County Republican and lead sponsor of the bill, called sports betting “a form of entertainment, something that consenting adults with their own money should have the right to do,” as ABC 11 in Raleigh reported.
He’s right.
North Carolina Could Be In Line To Legalize Sports Betting In 2022
It’s been four years since the Supreme Court cleared the way for legal sports betting across the United States. Could North Carolina be one of the next states to legalize sports betting? Several states including NC, are in the process of trying to legalize it. Some have already taken that action and are waiting to implement sports betting.
On Thursday, Kansas became the 31st state to take that step when Gov. Laura Kelly signed a bill that legalized sports betting in Kansas. Betting could begin as soon as September, just in time for football season. The state hopes to use the money raised will be used to hopefully lure professional teams to Kansas. For one, the Kansas City Chiefs, who currently play their home games across the border in Missouri. They also hope to take advantage of betters in Missouri as the state failed to advance sports betting legislation again this year.
The Supreme Court ruling in the case of Murphy vs. NCAA, handed down on May 14, 2018, overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, which had prohibited legal sports betting throughout most of the United States starting in 1992.
Once the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act was overturned in 2018, New Jersey was the first to take action. Other states, including Pennsylvania and Rhode Island, soon followed. But almost 5 years later North Carolina hasn’t jumped the gun. That could be poised to change in the coming months, however.
Bookies.com created “hypothetical odds” on when bettors in each of the remaining states will be able to make legal online wagers. Here were their results:
Charlie Nance is the Afternoon Drive co-host (along with his wife) of "The Charlie and Debbie Show" at WSOC, Country 1037 in Charlotte, North Carolina. The couple have been with the radio station since 2006. Charlie has won the prestigious CMA (Country Music Association) Award for Radio Personality of the Year and has been a finalist for the Country Radio Hall of Fame four times. Prior to his time in Charlotte, Charlie (along with Debbie) spent more than a decade hosting successful morning radio shows in Greenville, SC; Augusta, Ga; and Birmingham, Al. As a content creator for Country 1037, Charlie writes about dream lottery windfalls, sports, restaurants and bars, and travel experiences in North and South Carolina.
