NORTH CAROLINA, USA — Sports betting can officially begin on March 11, according to the North Carolina State Lottery Commission.
Under the Sports Wagering Authorization approved by the commission, people 21 years or older who have accounts with a licensed operator can use their phone or electronic device as of noon of March 11 to place sports wagers on licensed operators' sports wagering platforms.
Friday, March 1 is set as the day when licensed operators can begin registering accounts for new players and accepting account deposits.
No licenses or certificates of compliance have been approved yet, according to the lottery commission.
"The plan approved today means that North Carolinians will be able to place bets on their favorite teams in many of this year's college basketball conference tournaments, including men's tournaments in the ACC, Conference USA, the MEAC, and the AAC, as well as throughout out the men's and women's NCAA tournaments," Chair of the Commission, Ripley Rand said.
March Madness starts 8 days after online sports betting goes into effect, and the ACC Men's Basketball Tournament starts one day after sports wagers are legal.
Online sports betting will come more than 3 months ahead of the June 15th deadline set by state law, which was approved by the General Assembly last year.
WFMY News 2 spoke with Representatives Pricey Harrison and Jon Hardister. Both have been very vocal about their opinions on online sports betting.
Representative Hardister said it's going to generate tens of millions of dollars in tax revenue which can be put towards education and public safety.
Hardister said, "there's a little bit of controversy on sports wagering, but here's the way I see it, number one it's consumer choice. People decide whether or not they want to do it. Number two the vast majority of people are responsible just like anything else."
Representative Harrison however, worries about the widespread accessibility and lack of of limitations once online sports betting goes into effect.
"What I am worried about, and what I didn't see any of the reporting on this is what about all of those protections that we are worried about? Protecting underage kids from exposure, the advertising limits, there was an issue about problem gambling, and did we have adequate funds set up to protect those who become addicted gamblers who need access to that kind of help," Harrison explained.
A couple of weeks ago, we learned that seven operators had already applied for mobile sports betting licenses.
DraftKings and BetMGM, two of the largest online sportsbooks in existence, announced agreements to operate in our state.
No sports wagers will be lawful in North Carolina until noon on Monday, March 11.
The first wagers will be made on phones.
In-person sports betting will be on a case-by-case basis as operators meet requirements.
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