North Carolina lawmakers are set to introduce a new bill in the General Assembly this week that could see mobile sports betting legalized at some point this year.
On Friday, both the Democratic Governor Roy Cooper and a key Republican lawmaker Rep. Jason Saine were optimistic that the new legislation would garner enough support in the assembly to pass.
Speaking to reporters ahead of a Carolina Hurricanes fan fest, Gov. Cooper said:
“You know, I think it’s going to pass, from what I hear.”
While sports betting in North Carolina is legal at casino sportsbooks in Western North Carolina, new legislation is required to allow fans to bet elsewhere in the state. However , Cooper said of lawmakers:
“They trying to make sure that we get good legislation that is fair to the taxpayers, but also recognize this is something that’s going on anyway. So we might as well get benefit for our schools and our state out of it. So we’ll see how it goes.”
Rep. Jason Saine echoed the governor’s optimism when quizzed by local press saying:
“I believe Gov. Cooper is right in his optimism about sports betting. Last session’s process helped identify matters that needed to be worked on with the legislation, as well as giving members (time) to talk to their constituents about the possibility of legalized sports betting,”
“This past week, the bipartisan group of legislators who are formulating the bill saw language of the coming bill and worked to tweak a few items. We fully expect to see the bill filed this week and begin filing and moving the legislation through the committee process.”
During the last legislative session, a similar bill failed to pass through the assembly, losing out by a single vote.
An experienced iGaming commentator and analyst based in New York City - Jenny reports on regulation and gambling industry news and events.