Legal North Carolina Sports Betting a Gov. Signature Away

• The North Carolina House has concurred with Senate changes to House Bill 347 on Wednesday afternoon.
• The bill is now sent to Governor Roy Cooper who is expected to sign.
• With Governor Cooper’s signature, North Carolina will become the 28th state (including DC) to legalize online sports betting.

RALEIGH, N.C. – Legal online sports betting is likely coming to the Tarheel State after the House of Representatives voted in favor of concurrence with Senate changes to House Bill 347. The sports betting bill is now sent off to Governor Roy Cooper, who has said he will sign the bill.

The North Carolina sports wagering bill House Bill 347 was concurred on a third reading Wednesday afternoon by a 69-44 passing vote, following Tuesday’s 67-42 passing vote. The last stage before legal sports betting comes to North Carolina is a signature from Governor Cooper.

The revised online sports betting bill brings brick and mortar sportsbooks to stadiums and arenas across NC. Each physical sportsbook location will partner with an online sports betting operator.

NC HB 347 states that up to eight brick and mortar sportsbooks will be located at “places of public accommodation.” In addition to retail locations, 12 online sports betting licenses will be distributed to operators.

Each online sports betting license will cost operators $1 million, which lasts for five years. This is a no-brainer for operators who received over $300 million in sports betting wagers from neighboring Tennessee.

John A. Pappas, the Senior Vice President of GeoComply, released a congratulatory statement to the state of North Carolina following the passage of NC HB 347 in the House. Pappas claims in the statement that more than 1.5 million attempts from nearly 155,000 sports wagering accounts were tracked since the start of 2023, showing that legal North Carolina sports betting will be successful at launch.

The bill claims that sports betting will launch “no later than 12 months after the act becomes law,” meaning sports betting will arrive before football season in early 2024.

Gross gaming revenue will receive an 18% sports betting tax rate, an increase made throughout the bill’s path in the Senate. House Bill 347 also includes pari-mutuel wagering on horses and betting on in-state colleges, as well as professional and eSports.

News tags: NC HB 347 | North Carolina | Roy Cooper