The North Carolina General Assembly completed the necessary steps to pass a law that allows and regulates sports and horse-race betting. This decision will make the ninth-largest state in the United States, open to a wider range of legal gambling opportunities for North Carolinians.
House lawmakers approved amendments made by the Senate, which include increasing the amount of money the state receives from gambling revenues.
The bill, HB 347, now goes to Governor Roy Cooper, a Democrat who has already shown support for legalizing and overseeing sports betting. When asked whether he would sign the sports gambling measure into law once it reached his desk, Governor Cooper told reporters “I am generally in support for the sports-betting legislation. But we’re continuing to look at it.”
Even if Governor Cooper doesn’t sign the bill or even vetoed it, it automatically becomes law.
New Regime Gave Sports Betting Bill New Life
Anti-gambling forces made one last stand to try to keep the bill from being approved. The same groups were successful in getting a similar bill to fail nearly a year ago in the chamber.
However, as the new legislative session began in January, members who had rejected the bill in 2022 were no longer in the House, and sports wagering businesses and professional sports teams expected to profit from this gambling expansion continued their campaign.
Some Remain Opposed
Those opposed to the measure say they are still concerned about the potential adverse effects of expanding gambling. They worry that it could lead to more addiction problems, harming families and people with low incomes.
What The North Carolina Sports Betting Bill Allows
Adults would have the option to place online bets using their computers or mobile phones. Additionally, there would be sportsbooks available at or near professional sports venues, race tracks, and golf courses where people over 21 years old could make cash bets. Horse race betting would be handled separately by different gambling operators.
Legal sports gambling in North Carolina is currently available at the state’s only three casinos, which are operated by two American Indian tribes. Essentially the only other legal gambling in the state is a lottery that began in 2006.
Tax Revenue Expected to Be Big
The proposed legislation states that sports wagering would be taxed at a rate of 18% of the total revenue generated from bets, excluding the amount won by bettors. A previous version of the bill in the House suggested a similar tax rate of 14%, but it also had more deductions.
According to analysts in the legislature, after deducting expenses, the state is expected to earn around $71 million per year by the middle of 2028, both from sports wagering and horse racing. A significant portion of the tax revenue from sports wagering would be allocated to support local, regional, and state athletics initiatives, athletic programs at most universities in the University of North Carolina system, as well as programs aimed at addressing problem gambling.
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