(Newswire.net — March 18, 2024) — It has been a landmark week in North Carolina, with the state becoming the latest to jump on the sports betting bandwagon in the United States.
Governor Roy Cooper signed off on allowing betting sites to offer their services in North Carolina last June, and the first operators started accepting bets on Monday.
Moves are also afoot to allow operators of online slots to operate legally in the Tarheel State, although there is some way to go before this comes to fruition.
Cooper marked the occasion by wagering on one of the state’s professional teams to win major silverware in a move he hopes will benefit local causes.
“The legalization of sports betting will provide a significant boost to North Carolina’s economy and will allow our thriving sports industry to continue to grow,” Cooper said.
“For the first bet in North Carolina, I’m taking the Carolina Hurricanes to win the Stanley Cup. The winnings will be donated to the Carolina Hurricanes Foundation which helps children’s charities.”
The new legislation will provide funding for gambling addiction education and treatment programs, highlighting North Carolina’s commitment to implementing responsible gaming practices.
Eight operators have been awarded licenses that are valid for five years, and there is scope for a further four to be granted under the new law.
Each of the new operators paid a $1 million licensing fee and undertook a comprehensive vetting process to ensure they met every element of the new legislation.
The firms have opened the door for North Carolina bettors to wager on sports ‘in-person at a place of public accommodation or as a registered player via an interactive account’.
The upcoming NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament – more commonly known as March Madness – is expected to generate a ton of betting activity in the state.
North Carolina’s addition to the sports betting landscape in the US will provide a further boost to a sector that has been on a steep upward curve in recent years.
The nation’s sportsbooks generated a record $10.92 billion in revenue in 2023 and that figure looks guaranteed to be beaten by the end of this year.
Dr Michelle L Malkin, founder, and director of the Gambling Research and Policy Initiative at East Carolina University, told ESPN that the state’s decision to legalise sports betting was unsurprising.
“We were kind of aware that they were going to legalize – it was just a matter of when,” Malkin said.
“North Carolina tends to be a state that’s a little more cautious around gambling. I think they were taking a backseat to see what was happening in the other states. Was it successful? What kind of tax dollars were being earned?”
Early reports from North Carolina suggest that sports betting will be a big hit, with several sizeable wagers placed on the state’s sports teams in recent days.
Following Cooper’s bet on the Hurricanes, the first official wager bet placed in the state was $100 to win $1,800 in North Carolina to win the March Madness tournament.
Punters also showed plenty of interest in the Carolina Panthers winning the Super Bowl, although that was surprising as they are one of the outsiders in the latest NFL betting.