The North Carolina State Lottery Commission recently announced its proposed regulations for sports betting in the state. North Carolina legalized in-person sports betting at professional sports venues and online earlier this year, with the responsibility of regulating this activity allocated to the lottery commission as the state has no commercial casinos.
The proposed regulations were developed after consulting with experts in the sports betting field, and were made public on Tuesday. The public hearing on the guidelines is scheduled for November 20 at the State Lottery Commission headquarters in Raleigh.
Key features of the proposed rules include allowing anonymous bets of up to $10,000 in person, with bettors required to provide personal information for bets or payouts exceeding $10,000. All sports betting advertisements must include a statement restricting wagering to those 21 and older, and sportsbooks are prohibited from marketing deals with colleges and universities, as well as from advertising on platforms where at least 25% of the audience is expected to be underaged persons. Additionally, sportsbook messaging cannot include terms such as “risk-free” or “free” bets.
The law also qualifies four professional sports stadiums, including Bank of America Stadium and Spectrum Center, to offer in-venue sportsbooks. Charlotte Motor Speedway and certain golf clubs are also allowed to have temporary retail sportsbooks during their events.
The proposed regulations include a prohibition on companies like DraftKings and BetMGM from being the primary sponsors of these stadiums and venues. Furthermore, the rule states that no operator can purchase the right to name any physical location within the sports facilities.
The legislation requires sports betting operations to commence between January 8, 2024, and June 15, 2024. Each stadium can also partner with one online sports betting operator, with a one-time license fee of $1 million and 18% of gross proceeds being shared with the state.
The public can submit comments on the proposed rules until November 27, and the public hearing is expected to provide further clarity on the regulations.
