A North Carolina lawmaker has introduced a bill to legalize online sports betting after an attempt fell at the final hurdle last year.
Rep. Ashont Clemmons, the House Deputy Democratic Leader, is the one sponsoring Monday’s HB347. It contains many of the same details as the failed 2022 bill, which was blocked by the Senate. North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper previously said that he believes this is the year that sports betting legislation is passed.
10-12 online operators
The bill stipulates that North Carolina would house 10-12 online operators plus gambling areas at NASCAR tracks, professional sports stadiums, and large golf courses. Notably, these would not be full-fledged retail betting locations, but rather places for customers to interact with customer support.
Licenses would be good for five years and cost $1m. Sports betting revenues would come with a 14% tax rate and promotional deductions would be unlimited until 2025.
Last year’s bill failed for several reasons, one of which was its block on betting on in-state college teams. Although that is a fairly common principle in other states, and states without that rule have experienced issues, North Carolina officials did not want to see it pass. That is largely because college sports teams at the University of North Carolina and Duke University, among others, are extremely popular and would become major online betting prospects.
Sports betting is already legal at Harrah’s Cherokee Casinos in Cherokee and Murphy.