Two North Carolina Senate committees will today hear a full reading of legislation that could see the legalization of mobile sports betting in the state.
HB 347 proposes an expansion of the current retail-only sports betting market to allow online sportsbooks to launch in North Carolina. A House Commerce Committee approved the bill in March of this year, and this was then followed by the Senate Commerce Committee which approved a heavily amended version of the bill last week.
The Senate’s finance committee is scheduled to meet at 1 pm today while the Senate rules committee will discuss the legislation at its 2:30 pm meeting later this afternoon. If approved by both committees, the bill could be voted on by the full Senate on Wednesday and Thursday of this week.
While the bill has already been changed quite significantly since entering the Senate, there are more amendments expected in the finance committee.
Even with those changes, the legislation’s chief sponsor believes that if approved by the Senate, the House will accept the amendments. Those changes include a raising of the tax rate from 14% to 18% and the elimination of tax deductions for promotional credits.
One change that was made last week was the inclusion of historical horse race wagering may be removed as there are concerns over the links to slot machines.
Speaking to local news Rep. Jason Saine said:
“The Senate has had a thoughtful process and have been good partners in seeing this legislation through. I think their good faith efforts are greatly appreciated by sponsors and supporters of the bill in the House.”
If approved by both chambers and signed off by the Governor, the bill will not go into effect until January of 2024. This would allow the Lottery Commission enough time to handle the applications process and set up regulations for mobile sports betting in North Carolina.
Meanwhile the Senate is believed to be considering creating a block list of people who would be automatically excluded from gambling. People on this list would include anyone who owes child support or who owes money to the state.
According to the legislation, 12 mobile sports betting operators would be allowed to launch in the state.
An experienced iGaming commentator and analyst based in New York City - Jenny reports on regulation and gambling industry news and events.