Online sports betting to launch in North Carolina on Monday

PIEDMONT TRIAD, N.C. — You've seen the ads. You've seen the promos. And you might have already downloaded an app. Online sports betting is making its way to North Carolina.

Starting on Monday, those 21 and older will be able to legally place online sports bets. While that brings excitement for some, for others it brings concerns.

“Now you’re going to be able to pick up your phone, open an app, press a button or two and have a bet on a basketball game, a football game, whatever it is," David Bockino said. "The same way you pick up your phone and open TikTok or open Instagram.”

Starting Monday at noon, North Carolina will join 38 states that have allowed some form of sports betting and 29 that permit wagering online.

David Bockino is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sports Management at Elon University. He said to expect a lot of excitement in the coming weeks.

“You’re going to see a lot of people who have never bet on sports in their life sign up, take advantage of some of these promotions, and make a few bets," Bockino said. "Some of them, they’ll stop within a week or two and some of them will continue betting.”

Many online betting sites are expecting to see a lot of new users from the Tarheel state on their apps, including FanDuel.

“We’re obviously expecting a ton of new customers, which is always exciting," Jacob Blangsted-Barnor, Commercial Director for New States for FanDuel, said. "And really we’re expecting to see customers try out new betting products and new sports.”

But while excitement is in the air, there is also some concerns.

“Sports betting can be a very addictive activity," Bockino said. "You get consumed by the adrenaline of watching a match or a sport where you actually have a stake in the action... and young people especially are susceptible to that pull.”

Bockino said the ease that apps or online websites have make it more difficult to control.

“It’s so easy to just put $5 or $10 down, and it makes a game a lot more exciting in a lot of ways," he said. "But when you start to do this over and over again, it becomes addictive.”

Although this addictive nature is a concern for many, sports betting sites like FanDuel said they do their best to make sure users know what they're getting into.

“At FanDuel we take responsible gaming very, very seriously," Blangsted-Barnor said. "We always believe that the platform should be used as a form of entertainment for customers to play within a budget and wager within their means and only wager what they can afford to lose.”

They have several tools to help people game responsibly, including deposit limits, time outs, self-exclusions and player statements.

On March 1, the granted its first sports betting licenses to several companies, including:

• Tribal Casino Gaming Enterprise
• Betfair Interactive US, LLC (dba: FanDuel Sportsbook)
• BETMGM, LLC.
• Crown NC Gaming, LLC (dba: DraftKings)
• FBG Enterprises Opco, LLC (dba: Fanatics Sportsbook)
• Hillside (North Carolina), LLC (dba: bet365)
• Penn Sports Interactive, LLC (dba: ESPN BET)
• Underdog Sports Wagering LLC

While you can't bet on those sites yet, you can register so that you're ready to go when sports betting goes live on March 11.