North Carolina Officially Names Its Seven Sports Betting Operators
The March 11 launch of North Carolina's legal sports betting platform is quickly approaching, but there's still business at hand involving the best sportsbooks.
Thursday marked the completion of one of the major hurdles for the impending platform, with the official naming of the seven North Carolina sports betting apps that will be taking wagers in the state on Day 1, March 11 at noon. The timing is perfect, coming ahead of March Madness for the basketball-crazed Tar Heel State.
The North Carolina State Lottery Commission didn't provide any surprises on Thursday. The seven licensees are among the best sports betting apps, and each one had been long rumored to be going live in the Tar Heel State in March. The Commission also handed out one service provider license on Thursday.
“Issuing the first interactive sports wagering operator licenses today represents a major milestone in establishing legal sports betting in North Carolina," said North Carolina State Lottery Commission chair Ripley Rand. "North Carolinians can begin signing up for accounts on their mobile devices on Friday with the confidence they will soon be able to make wagers on their favorite sporting events securely and responsibly.
"We’re just 11 days away from the start of sports betting in North Carolina and we will be working every day between now and then to see that our launch is a successful one.”
The lucky seven
There were zero surprises about which providers and betting sites were granted licenses to operate in North Carolina starting March 11 and will be offering North Carolina sportsbook promos. Each sportsbook needed to partner with a North Carolina sports team or venue to receive a license, and every one did.
All will start accepting player registration on Friday for those 21 years and older in anticipation of the North Carolina sports betting launch March 11.
The lucky seven North Carolina sports betting sites include:
- bet365 in partnership with the Charlotte Hornets
- BetMGM in partnership with Charlotte Motor Speedway
- DraftKings in partnership with NASCAR
- ESPN BET in partnership with Quail Hollow Golf Club
- Fanatics in partnership with the Carolina Hurricanes
- FanDuel in partnership with the PGA Tour
- Underdog Sports in partnership with McConnell Golf
Caesars, thanks to a partnership with Tribal Casino Gaming Enterprise Cherokee, was granted a service provider license in the state, paving the way for a mobile sports wagering presence at a future date.
Joining the party
The North Carolina sports betting industry is expected to vault into the top-10 legal sports betting states in America with an estimated $100 million annually in tax revenue being generated. All of the top providers and a rabid sports fanbase make up a good formula to do just that.
North Carolina will become the 30th U.S. jurisdiction to join the U.S. legal sports betting family, with more on the horizon. Expect more news in the coming weeks out of North Carolina as momentum ramps up for the long-awaited launch of legal sports betting.
