The ultimate guide to North Carolina sports betting: Promos, launch details, more

Gov. Cooper signed HB 347 on June 14, 2023, at Spectrum Center, home of the Charlotte Hornets, alongside leading legislators who pushed the bill through the state general assembly.

The North Carolina Lottery Commission promulgated rules, regulations, and awarded licenses in just five months to put the state in position to launch sports betting next week, three months prior to its statutory deadline of June 2024.

Read below on everything you need to know about sports betting finally coming to North Carolina, including who's in, winners and losers, best sportsbook promos and more.

Nine operators submitted sports betting license applications to the North Carolina Lottery Commission. The commission awarded eight licenses in late February, which will allow the operators to begin accepting bets on Monday at noon.

The following eight operators and their partners will launch next week in the Tar Heel state:

The Catawba Two Kings Casino is still awaiting a license and has yet to announce its operating partner. It was the only group that applied for a sports betting license that was not initially approved.

North Carolina will offer a unique sports betting landscape for potential customers. Underdog Sports, which has primarily operated in the daily fantasy sports landscape, will make its first foray into sports betting in the state.

Underdog Sports has a DFS presence in 41 states and Washington, D.C., but North Carolina will be its first opportunity to present its sports betting product to the public.

Additionally, ESPN BET will have its first chance to acquire customers from day one in the state, allowing it to compete on a neutral starting point for the first time. ESPN BET has transitioned from Barstool Sportsbook in every state it currently operates in and has yet to launch in a market from the first day.

PENN Entertainment representatives have said it’s their goal to be “on the pedestal” in the U.S. sports betting landscape. While it has been among the top three or four operators in states it’s currently in, ESPN BET lags behind market leaders DraftKings and FanDuel. North Carolina will provide ESPN BET with the best look into just how well it will be able to compete with the top operators in a state where every sportsbook is beginning from the start.

Ahead of Monday's launch, North Carolina sports betting operators are offering new players the chance to sign up early and claim extra bonuses. Here is what is available, with links to each:

However, there will be no eSports on the initial sports betting catalogue, but operators are able to petition the North Carolina Lottery to allow bets on certain eSports events.

The typical slate of sports bets will be allow in North Carolina, including bets on point spreads, totals, the money line, same game parlays, live in-game betting, and a number of others.

While other states are looking to place prohibitions on college sports betting, North Carolina will have a wide open market. The state does not feature a ban on bets for in-state colleges or universities. Additionally, North Carolina regulators will allow prop bets on individual college athletes, as other states such as Ohio and Maryland are taking steps to prohibit those types of wagers.

Gov. Cooper signed the state’s online sports betting bill into law on June 14, 2023. By law, North Carolina regulators had one year to launch sports betting from the day Cooper signed the bill.

In-person sports betting was legal in the state, but the bill expands where it can offered. There is currently no launch date for the expanded launch of brick-and-mortar sports betting in the state. Eight facilities are eligible to host brick-and-mortar sportsbooks.

The PNC Arena in Raleigh, WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, Bank of America Stadium and Spectrum Center in Charlotte, Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Wilkesboro Speedway, Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro and Quail Hollow Country Club in Charlotte will be allowed to host sportsbooks at their locations.

The sports betting bill includes an 18% sports betting tax rate, legalizes pari-mutuel wagering on horse racing, and disallows sports betting operators to deduct promotional bets from their gross revenues. It allows allows bets on professional sports, college sports (including in-state schools), eSports, and the Olympic games.

At an 18% tax rate, the state estimates $22.1 million in total sports wagering tax and fee revenue by FY 2023-2024, which increases to $100.6 million by FY 2027-28.

North Carolina sports betting tax revenues will be distributed as follows: