Legal North Carolina Sports Betting

North Carolina launched in person sports betting on March 18, 2021. Governor Roy Cooper signed SB 154 into effect in July 2019 but it took over a year for the official launch to kick in. The local Cherokee Tribe is in charge of the legal North Carolina sports betting market with sportsbooks at at the Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort in Cherokee and the Harrah’s Cherokee Valley River Casino & Hotel in Murphy. Aside from these two, Two Kings Casino sportsbook also offers betting lines, but their temporary facility isn’t much to look at. While online sports betting apps in NC have yet to be added to the betting regulations, online sportsbooks are available to provide betting lines to all residents. No matter how you wish to play, there are options for legal North Carolina sports betting.

• In person NC sports betting is only available in three tribal casinos.
• Legal online sportsbooks offer a way for residents to bet sports online in North Carolina.
• Legislative bills look to add a regulated mobile betting industry in 2023.

Governor Roy Cooper Shows Support For Online Sportsbooks In NC

In 2022, North Carolina’s governor, Roy Cooper, went on record with his support for legalizing and regulating online sports betting in North Carolina.

“It’s [online sports betting] here whether we like it or not… The issue is will North Carolina try to be on the cutting edge for the technology jobs and other employment that it will create and plus be able to get state taxpayers their cut, or are we just going to let it happen all around us? I think it’s time for us to step up and do it.” said Cooper of online sports betting.

Real Money Sports Betting In NC

Betting with real money in NC is available with many online sportsbooks. You can use both cryptocurrencies and traditional financial methods as a deposit option, and they both have upsides and downsides. Traditional financial methods are a bit easier to manage, but crypto carries the advantage of being more reliable and having less deposit fees.

Sports Betting Outlook In North Carolina For 2023

North Carolina could potentially see the passing of betting legislation to allow for mobile and online sportsbooks to happen in 2023. Lawmakers came close to passing a bill in 2023 with SB 688 which passed in the Senate but died in the House to a 51-50 vote. The major hold-up was college sports betting with many lawmakers wanting to outright ban odds on all college sports. Even with the bill failing, many are in support of expanding NC’s betting market including the likes of Governor Roy Cooper and professional teams like the Carolina Hurricanes. With such massive support, it is not a far fetched belief to assume a bill will pass in 2023.

Betting On Sports In North Carolina With Cryptocurrencies

Online sportsbooks that accept North Carolina bettors also allow bettors to use cryptocurrencies to deposit and withdraw from betting wallets. Cryptocurrencies are constantly growing in popularity and usage by many across the country and for that reason, North Carolina lawmakers have considered accepting crypto bets should the market regulate. The failed SB 688 would have allowed for online sportsbooks to accept the likes of Bitcoin and other popular digital coins for funding wallets. Legal sports betting sites continue to expand the cryptocurrency options available as well, allowing for more crypto than ever before. North Carolina bettors who use crypto can wager to their heart’s content.

Cryptocurrencies Accepting In North Carolina

• Bitcoin
• Litecoin
• Ethereum
• Dogecoin
• Tether
• Bitcoin Cash
• Cardano
• Stellar
• Solana
• Chainlink
• Binance Coin
• Bitcoin SV
• Shiba Inu
• ApeCoin
• Polygon
• USD Coin
• Avalanche

Crypto vs. Credit Cards vs. Wire Transfers

Sports Betting Timeline In North Carolina

• Jun 23, 2022 – Sports betting expansion hopes are likely deadin North Carolina for the time being.
• May 25, 2022 – Lawmakers profess the belief that an online expansion of sports betting in NC could have the votes to make it in 2022.
• Nov 8, 2021 – A mobile sports betting expansion bill has been brought to the North Carolina House.
• Aug 19, 2021 – A bill that would expand mobile betting in NC, which currently only has retail betting at the state level, is up for a vote in the Senate.
• Jun 15, 2021 – There are several NC sports betting expansion bills awaiting hearings in the State Legislature, one of which would regulate mobile betting in NC.
• Apr 11, 2021 – Sen. Jim Perry tells LSB that “the reality that all we must accept is that if you don’t have legal sports betting, it just means that you have illegal sports betting, it doesn’t mean that sports betting is not taking place in your state.”
• Dec 7, 2020 – Gov. Roy Cooper has approved of the tribal deals to create a sports betting industry in North Carolina.
• Sep 1, 2020 – It has now been nearly 15 months since the regulation of sports betting in NC, with no sportsbooks open. “We had hoped to have been open already,” said Chief Richard Sneed of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.
• Sep 9, 2019 – North Carolina currently features a fully functional state lottery and two casinos, but several months after sports betting regulations were passed, it still has no sportsbooks.
• Jul 29, 2019 – Gov. Roy Cooper approves sports betting at tribal casinos, pending tribal compacts allowing him to do so.
• Jul 16, 2019 – SB 154 passes the House with a final vote of 90-27. The bill would allow for tribal sports betting in NC.
• Apr 10, 2019 – SB 154 passes the Senate with a vote of 43-7. The bill regulates tribal sports betting in a similar way to gambling in NC, allowing tribes to offer sports betting.
• Apr 7, 2019 – SB 154 is passed out of the North Carolina Senate Committee on Commerce and Insurance. It would regulate sports betting via tribal casinos in NC.
• Mar 6, 2019 – SB 154, a bill that would regulate tribal sports betting, came about at the request of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, and is likely to pass, according to sponsor Sen. Jim Davis.

Where’s The Closest North Carolina Sportsbook From Me?

Two retail sportsbooks are operational in North Carolina, with a third on the way by football season. The operational sportsbooks are both located in the western portion of N.C. in Murphy and Cherokee. The new sportsbook will be located in Kings Mountain, N.C. Before the launch of that new sportsbook, residents of Raleigh, Fayetteville, and Durham had to drive over three hours to bet on sports.

Potential Economic Impact Of Full Sports Betting In North Carolina

With only two tribal casinos accepting sports bets in North Carolina, overall levels of economic impact from the sports betting industry project to be very low. In addition, as the tribal casinos are not required to report income for public consumption, it’s also impossible to properly estimate what their income is. However, looking at similar situations can tell us what full scale regulation in NC might do.

Nationally, states with legal sports betting that report financial data and don’t see an abnormally high volume of gambling tourists (that excludes Nevada and New Jersey) average $149.64 per capita in betting handle. They capture 6.97% of this handle in revenue on average. Using the national average tax rate of 12.82% and the North Carolina population of 10.80 million people, this would be the projected economic impact:

• Potential NC Annual Sports Betting Handle: $1.55 billion
• Potential NC Annual Sports Betting Revenue: $108.3 million
• Potential NC Annual Sports Betting Tax Collections: $13.9 million

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Where Can I Legally Bet Real Money On Sports In North Carolina?

Betting on sports in North Carolina is easy. Aside from the two sportsbooks in NC, bettors have the option of using online books too. The Harrah’s Cherokee Casinos offer some great betting lines. Also, look to using a legal NC sportsbook like Bovada. They accept real money sports betting players and have more lines and odds than local books.

Where Can I Check the Current Betting Odds and Lines In NC?

For all North Carolina players that do not want to travel to one of the land based tribal casinos to check out current betting odds, there are mobile betting options available. There are plenty of legal mobile sportsbooks that can be accessed in North Carolina for live odds on all major and minor sports. Whether trying to place live wagers on the NC State Wolfpack’s college basketball lines, or future wagers on the Tar Heels March Madness odds, players can use their phones without leaving the house for current odds and lines through Bovada, BetOnline, or other online books.

What Is The Legal Sports Betting Age In North Carolina?

The standard gambling age of 21+ is what the sports betting laws in North Carolina state as the legal age for betting on sports. Online sportsbooks accept players that are 18+ but most sports bettors in North Carolina join these sites after they are 21 to follow the rules of the state.

Devices For Mobile Sports Betting:

While NC lawmakers have not regulated commercial sports betting apps in the state, there are still online sportsbook apps available for all players in North Carolina. Internationally based books like Bovada and BetOnline can be accessed from any smartphone device in North Carolina and offer the best betting experience. With no restriction on college sports betting and instant transactions through 17 different cryptocurrencies, mobile betting has never been easier in North Carolina through these mobile sportsbook apps that have been used and trusted in the state for over a decade.

• iPhone
• Android
• Samsung
• Google Pixel
• Windows

What NC Teams Can I Bet On?

The sports betting market in North Carolina allows players to wager on in-state college and professional teams, as well as teams and players anywhere else in the world. However, college basketball betting is one of the most popular wager types in NC, with the Blue Devils and the Tar Heels always having a competitive season. The Hurricanes, Panthers, and Hornets are the most popular pro teams for wagering in North Carolina, with live and future odds available at all of the online sportsbooks like Bovada offered in the state.

How To Gamble On The 2023-24 NFL Season In North Carolina

There are many ways to legally bet on the 2023-24 NFL season with online and in person sportsbooks accepting North Carolina players. Bovada and BetOnline are two of the best online books in NC that offer odds and props on the NFL season all year long. These online books have been trusted in North Carolina for over a decade and offer hundreds of different odds on the NFL that can be accessed without leaving the house.

Carolina Panthers Odds In North Carolina

Legal NFL sports betting sites started offering future odds for the Carolina Panthers for the 2023-24 season as soon as the 2022 season came to an end. Legal betting sites offer NFC South odds as well as conference odds for the Panthers, with first year head coach Frank Reich. North Carolina bettors can place future wagers on the Super Bowl and place live wagers on game lines and props when the season kicks off.

• 2021: 8-9
• 2020: 7-9
• 2019: 11-5
• 2018: 8-8
• 2017: 10-7

Odds To Be The Newest Head Coach Of The Carolina Panthers

After Matt Rhule was fired during the 2022-23 NFL season, legal sportsbooks generated odds for who would be the head coach for the Panthers during the 2023-24 season. Frank Reich ended up filling the job for the Panthers and had +800 odds to become the coach before the decision was announced in North Carolina.

• Carolina Panthers Next Head Coach Odds
• Sean Payton +260
• Dan Quinn +350
• Shane Steichen +450
• Kellen Moore +750
• Steve Wilks +1200
• Ron Rivera +1200

Betting On The NBA In North Carolina

There are two local sportsbooks that offer odds throughout the NBA season for North Carolina betting fans. Those looking to bet on the Charlotte Hornets can find odds for all of the team’s games at these operators. Online sportsbooks that accept NC bettors are also great options this season. Local North Carolina NBA gamblers can find action on the team’s odds to make the playoffs, odds for Miles Bridges and LaMelo Ball to win Most Improved Player and even odds for their chances at winning the NBA Finals. No matter how you want to play, there are options for betting on the NBA in North Carolina.

Betting On The Charlotte Hornets

Having gone over their projected win total the last three full NBA seasons, the Charlotte Hornets have been a very profitable bet for North Carolinians. The most profitable way to bet on them during the 2021-2022 season was to do so based on rest. They covered both of their games with four or more days of rest, 62.5% of their games with two or three days of rest, 60.4% in games with one day off, and only 26.7% of their games when playing on no rest. That correlation held true during the 2021-22 season when comparing their play with a rest advantage or rest disadvantage when compared to their opponent. In games with a rest advantage, the Hornets covered the spread 55% of the time, with that number dropping to 36.1% with a rest disadvantage. In games in which they had equal rest of their opponent, they covered the spread at a 65% rate.

Bet On MLB In North Carolina

While North Carolina doesn’t boast a Major League Baseball team of its own, it is still a state with a rich baseball culture and a thriving fandom. And with a thriving baseball culture comes a thriving culture for betting on the MLB as well. North Carolina MLB fans have a number of betting options to choose from, including numerous international online sportsbooks and two tribal retail sportsbooks. Online sportsbooks generally offer a wider selection of betting types and better payout rates, but retail sportsbooks are a popular option for a more social betting experience.

Daily Fantasy Sports In North Carolina

The legality of daily fantasy sports contests (DFS) in North Carolina is a topic that saw some action but had legislators stop efforts to classify DFS as sports betting, which would have effectively outlawed daily fantasy in North Carolina. In 2017, HB279 was defeated on the basis that DFS is largely seen as contests of skill. For now, DFS is legal for all North Carolina residents and is likely to remain this way. Fantasy betting operators have the upper hand as DFS has used its exemption from the federal Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA) as a defense in past regulatory disputes.

Legal North Carolina Sports Betting FAQs