Legal Sports Betting Brief: NC Tries Mobile, KY Advances

• A North Carolina sports betting bill to permit mobile betting was filed on Monday.
• Kentucky legislators in the House approved KY HB 551, now sending it to the Senate for approval.
• The first data of Massachusetts sports betting released, showing the immediate impact of regulation.

CHARLOTTE – In an effort to bring mobile betting to North Carolina, Representative Jason Saine introduced NC HB 347.

The North Carolina sports betting bill would look to launch “at least 10, but not more than 12” sports betting apps should it make its way through the legislature. If all goes well, NC residents would have in-state options online at the start of 2024.

Per HB 347, betting on both college and professional sports would be permitted, as North Carolina implements a 14% tax rate on sportsbooks’ revenue.

In order to become a North Carolina sportsbook, operators would need to pay a $1 million fee. However, unlike most states, this license would last for five years, rather than having an annual renewal.

As a bipartisan bill with knowledge of both chambers from last year, many are expecting this measure to pass.

Already having a first reading in the House, the bill has been referred to the committee on commerce and must hit the finance committee, judiciary committee, as rules, calendar, and operations should the Commerce Committee view it favorably.

Kentucky Sports Betting Advancing

A little further along this session, Kentucky legislators are aggressively targeting their sports betting bill, KY HB 551. With an estimated $22 million in KY sports betting taxes being left on the table, legislators in the House voted 63-34 to advance their Ketucky sports betting bill to the Senate.

With the democrats on board (17-1), most of the disapproval came from the GOP (46-33). Still, before giving it the final approval, the bill saw five amendments voted on. Most resolved language in the bill, but three stood out as the most important to bettors and legal sportsbooks alike.

• Removing in person registration for the first year: Passed
• Removing the ability to fund sportsbook accounts with a credit card: Failed
• Increase the NC sports betting age from 18 to 21: Failed

While the process if halfway done, the Senate is the reason the why Kentucky sportsbooks aren’t live in-state currently. But, adjusting the language from last year’s measure, the removal of poker legalization as well as DFS regulation, assumes a more favorable opportunity to pass in the Senate too.

Needing a three-fifths majority, the measure is not yet on the Senate calendar.

News tags: Kentucky | KY HB 551 | NC HB 347 | North Carolina