North Carolina Sports Betting

Legal North Carolina Betting Sites

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21+ and present in NC. Gambling Problem? Call 877-718-5543 or visit morethanagame.nc.gov

Here are the key things to know about the North Carolina online sports betting market:

  • Fans must be 21 or older to bet online in North Carolina
  • Eight sports betting apps are open for business
  • The NC Lottery Commission may approve up to 12 online sportsbooks in total
  • Licensed betting sites may accept wagers on professional, collegiate, and amateur sports plus approved esports leagues

North Carolina Sports Betting Apps

North Carolina bettors have eight online sportsbooks to choose from today, and the NC Lottery Commission may approve up to four additional operators.

The Bet365 North Carolina app operates in partnership with the Charlotte Hornets for advertising and licensing purposes.

Notable Bet365 highlights include excellent pricing on an uncommonly wide array of leagues, the most in-depth same-game parlay wagers (SGPs), and attractive long-term promos for North Carolina bettors.

Bet365’s longstanding early payout promotions for the NFL, NBA, hockey, and NCAA games are unique among North Carolina betting sites.

For example, Bet365 is the only North Carolina sportsbook that pays NFL moneyline bets (pregame and parlay) early if the bettor’s team gets ahead by 17+ points at any time during the game.

A clunky wagering interface and dated mobile app may turn off some bettors, but Bet365’s strong points make it a sportsbook North Carolinians should consider.

BetMGM is one of the most promo-centric North Carolina sports betting sites, beginning with its customer-friendly welcome bonus.

North Carolinians can also expect regular short-term promos involving local teams, daily odds boosts, random giveaways, and immediate membership in BetMGM Rewards.

Other BetMGM North Carolina highlights include low vigorish on pregame and in-game NFL moneylines, an extensive props betting menu for most sports, and a feature-rich mobile app.

BetMGM NC lowlights include slow customer support and an app that’s prone to lag.

DraftKings is one of North Carolina’s most well-rounded online sportsbooks, thanks to valuable promos, competitive lines, and a slick mobile app.

On the promotional front, DraftKings features customer-friendly offers in North Carolina, free-to-play betting pools, and a highly-reviewed loyalty program.

Frequent bettors will appreciate DraftKings’ vast array of betting markets, including extensive props and alternate line options. Additionally, DraftKings NC boasts low moneyline vigorish and extremely competitive teaser pricing.

DraftKings’ primary negative points are poor pricing on progressive parlays and a tendency to quickly apply wagering limits to sharp bettors.

FanDuel is the most prominent North Carolina sports betting app thanks to its widespread name recognition, established reputation, and above-average betting lines for most sports.

FanDuel’s pregame moneylines and in-play bets take less commission than other North Carolina sportsbooks on average, which translates to bettors keeping more of their winnings.

However, FanDuel futures are a mixed bag, and its teasers are routinely below average. Regarding those bet types, bettors should consider comparison shopping between FanDuel and other NC betting sites.

FanDuel could also improve its promotional lineup and launch a sportsbook rewards program to better compete with other North Carolina sports betting apps.

That said, FanDuel occasionally launches high-value promos for existing customers. Fans can also look forward to regular odds boosts for North Carolina teams.

Caesars Entertainment operates retail sportsbooks at two Harrah’s Cherokee casino locations in North Carolina in addition to online betting.

The Caesars Sportsbook North Carolina app ranks well in the categories of in-play betting, market depth (number of wagers per event), and loyalty rewards.

More specifically, Caesars Sportsbook offers in-play betting on dozens of games every day, with live streaming for multiple sports, including the NFL. It also offers a vast range of futures and prop bets with above-average pricing.

Bettors also receive a plethora of additional benefits via Caesars Rewards, such as online betting bonuses and perks for users who regularly visit Caesars’ retail sportsbook locations in North Carolina.

However, Caesars Sportsbook only offers average pricing on pregame moneylines, and the app is quite limited in functionality aside from its improved live streaming options.

ESPN Bet struggles to differentiate itself from other North Carolina sports betting sites, but it has some strong points that bettors should consider before moving on.

A surface-level look at ESPN Bet reveals a bland mobile app and generic sports wagering catalog. However, ESPN Bet’s lines are often markedly divergent from other sportsbooks in North Carolina, which opens frequent opportunities to snag superior odds.

North Carolina bettors will also find that ESPN Bet has the best same game parlay (SGP) odds more often than not.

ESPN Bet promotions tend to be hit-or-miss, depending on the type of offer. Most ESPN Bet odds boosts in North Carolina are unimpressive, but bettors can expect to find the occasional gem.

Fanatics Sportsbook shows potential but has some work to do before it will rank alongside the best North Carolina betting sites.

Its most promising trait is a willingness to dip into the unconventional and innovate. For example, the Fanatics Sportsbook app learns from customer behaviors to recommend bets on their favorite teams, like the Carolina Hurricanes and Charlotte Hornets.

Fanatics Sportsbook also has a simple but straightforward and rewarding loyalty program. Unlike many online betting VIP programs, Fanatics’ FanCash program is easy to understand and leverage for maximum value.

However, the Fanatics Sportsbook app isn’t intuitive, so it’s not always obvious how to view all bets of a particular type or find a complete list of upcoming games in a specific league.

Fanatics’ wagering catalog is adequate for casual bettors but less extensive than other North Carolina betting sites. Meanwhile, the betting lines are about average.

  • Launch Date: March 11th, 2024
  • Partner: McConnell Golf

Underdog Sports is a new online sportsbook developed by prominent daily fantasy operator Underdog Fantasy.

Readers can see BettingUSA’s Underdog Fantasy review for general background information about the company, and we will provide updates here as we learn more.

Underdog Sports operates in North Carolina through a licensing partnership with McConnell Golf, which operates Sedgefield Country Club.

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Licensed betting sites in North Carolina offer welcome bonuses as incentives for bettors to sign up for accounts, deposit funds, and bet on sports.

The most common types of betting bonuses bettors will encounter in North Carolina include:

  • Bet and Get Bonuses: New customers receive bonus bets when they sign up and place their first cash wager. Sportsbooks often use phrasing like “bet $5 and get $100 in bonus bets.”
  • Second Chance Bets: New users who sign up, place a wager, and lose receive 100% refunds paid as bonus bets.
  • First Deposit Bonuses: Bettors receive bonus funds upon completing their first deposit. The size of the first deposit usually determines the size of the bonus. New customer deposit bonuses are becoming increasingly uncommon in the US online betting market.

Although the extent to which any particular offer benefits bettors can vary significantly, nearly all North Carolina betting bonuses provide value to some degree.

That’s partially a natural result of the competitive nature of the legal US betting industry, but state regulations also play a role. North Carolina regulations require operators to offer fair bonuses and describe them accurately.

In part, Rule 1E-003 requires NC betting sites to:

  • Describe all betting bonuses and promos with complete, accurate, concise, transparent, and non-misleading language
  • Never advertise sports betting promos as “free” if customers must risk or lose money or if there are any conditions attached to customers’ own money
  • Never advertise promos as “risk-free” if customers must incur a loss or risk money to withdraw the winnings from such offers
  • Provide clear and conspicuous methods for customers to cancel bonuses
  • Never limit the winnings customers can earn with a bonus once they have met its terms

North Carolina Sports Betting Deposits

North Carolina regulators have approved a wide range of deposit methods to cover every realistic use case the average bettor may have.

As a result, most online sportsbooks in North Carolina support everyday payment methods like debit cards and physical cash, mobile platforms like Venmo, and various online banking solutions.

NC Lottery Commission regulations specifically authorize the following betting deposit methods:

  • Credit cards and debit cards
  • Electronic funds transfers
  • ACH transfers
  • Online and mobile payment systems (e.g., Apple Pay and PayPal)
  • Reloadable, nontransferable prepaid cards (e.g., Play+ Card)
  • Cash (e.g., PayNearMe)
  • Cash equivalents converted to cash
  • Any other method approved by the Commission

State law also authorizes operators to accept Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. The definition of “cash equivalent” (an approved deposit method) found in G.S. § 18C-901(2) includes “digital, crypto, and virtual currency.”

However, there are not yet any betting sites in North Carolina that accept Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies due to the complexities involved in accepting cryptocurrency deposits while managing exchange risk (volatility) and complying with federal Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) laws.

North Carolina Sportsbook Locations

North Carolina is home to three retail sportsbooks, one at each of the state’s two Cherokee casinos in the western portion of the state and another at Catawba Two Kings Casino near Charlotte.

In addition, the latest law has approved up to eight more retail sportsbooks at professional sports venues that host teams from the MLB, MLS, NBA, NF, NHL, NWSL, motorsport facilities that host more than one annual NASCAR race, and golf courses that host a professional tournament that usually attracts more than 50,000 spectators.

Under those criteria, some of the venues that qualify to apply for North Carolina retail sportsbook licenses include:

  • Spectrum Center, home of the Charlotte Hornets
  • Bank of America Stadium, home of the Carolina Panthers and Charlotte FC
  • PNC Arena, home of the Carolina Hurricanes
  • WakeMed Soccer Park, home of the NC Courage
  • Charlotte Motor Speedway
  • North Wilkesboro Speedway
  • Quail Hollow Club
  • Sedgefield Country Club

  • Location: Near the promotions stage
  • Four betting windows
  • Five self-serve betting kiosks

777 Casino Parkway
Murphy, NC 28906

  • Location: SoundBytes
  • Seven betting windows
  • Ten self-serve betting kiosks

777 Casino Drive
Cherokee, NC 28719

  • Thirty self-serve betting kiosks
  • Open 24/7

538 Kings Mountain Blvd.
Kings Mountain, NC 28086

North Carolina Sports Betting Timeline

North Carolina legalized sports betting in July 2019 after Governor Roy Cooper signed off on Senate Bill 154.

SB 154 was fairly limited in scope as it simply categorized sports and horse racing betting as forms of Class III gaming, which is allowed at tribal casinos. Essentially, the NC sports betting law approved retail sportsbooks at three casinos:

  • Harrah’s Cherokee Hotel and Casino in Cherokee
  • Harrah’s Cherokee Valley River Casino & Hotel in Murphy
  • Catawba Two Kings Casino Resort in Cleveland County

The bill did not legalize mobile betting, but even this minor advance was a big step forward for North Carolina, which has historically opposed gambling expansions of all types.

Bill co-sponsor Jim Davis urged the House to approve the bill while acknowledging the lingering skepticism regarding any expansion of gambling in North Carolina:

“We’re not asking you this morning to legalize sports betting,” he said. “We’re simply asking you to add this to the list of games that are allowed [at the casinos].”

Shortly after the North Carolina sports betting bill was signed into law, Harrah’s Regional VP of Marketing Brian Saunooke estimated both sportsbooks would be up and running by Fall 2019.

“By late fall, football will be in full swing,” he said at the time. “That’s an exciting time for sports bettors in general. We will be looking at other sports as well. We expect to have a full offering similar to what you would have in other markets, like Las Vegas.”

However, the launch of legal sports betting in North Carolina was slower than expected. Implementation hinged on the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians amending their gaming compact with the state to authorize sportsbooks at their casinos. The Bureau of Indian Affairs signed off on the amended compact in early March 2021, and the state’s first sportsbooks launched shortly thereafter.

That same year, lawmakers introduced SB 688 to authorize mobile sports betting apps in North Carolina. The bill passed a full Senate vote in August 2021 and carried over into 2022.

Companion legislation introduced in 2022 made significant amendments to SB 688. However, the bills failed to pass a House vote, ending North Carolina’s online sports betting prospects for the year.

Lawmakers took up the effort again in 2023 via HB 347, a measure that resembled the previous year’s legislation. This time, the bill passed full House and Senate votes and went to Governor Roy Cooper’s desk for one more signature to officially legalize online sports betting in North Carolina.

North Carolina Sports Betting Law

North Carolina legalized online sports betting and retail sportsbooks in June 2023 via HB 347.

The law tasks the North Carolina Lottery Commission with regulating sports betting, adopting additional regulations needed to implement the law, and issuing licenses to qualified operators.

One of the Commission’s other duties is to adopt additional regulations as needed to implement North Carolina sports betting law.

While state law provides the basic outline for legal sports betting in North Carolina, regulations adopted by the Lottery Commission cover the specifics on topics ranging from licensing conditions to data retention requirements and more.

Readers can see the law and its accompanying regulations in full here:

The bulk of North Carolina’s sports betting rules concern topics primarily of interest to operators, but below are some of the paraphrased highlights that impact bettors.

The Lottery Commission may issue up to 12 online sports betting licenses and eight retail sportsbook licenses.

Each qualified operator must pay:

  • $1,000,000 licensing fee
  • 18% tax on gross wagering revenue

Consumer protection measures in North Carolina’s sports betting law require licensed operators to:

  • Verify the age, identity, and location of every customer
  • Maintain a reserve of at least $500,000 or enough to cover all outstanding liabilities to customers, whichever is greater
  • Employ commercially reasonable methods to protect customers’ confidential information
  • Establish procedures to detect suspicious or illegal wagering activity
  • Honor withdrawal requests within five days unless the operator has a good faith belief the customer has engaged in fraud or violated North Carolina sports betting law

North Carolina sports betting apps must:

  • Submit responsible gambling plans to the Commission for approval before offering sports betting in North Carolina
  • Establish procedures for identifying and responding to customers who display signs of problem gambling
  • Train employees on responsible gambling
  • Implement internal controls to prevent voluntarily and involuntarily excluded individuals from placing wagers
  • Not extend credit to customers
  • Not market micro-loans and short-term cash loans to customers
  • Provide mechanisms for users to self-exclude from sports wagering
  • Allow customers to establish daily, weekly, and monthly deposit and wagering limits

Additionally, the Commission must maintain a statewide voluntary self-exclusion program that allows customers to exclude themselves from all wagering temporarily or permanently.

Sports wagering operators must ensure their advertisements:

  • Do not target anyone under 21
  • Disclose the identity of the sports betting operator
  • Provide links to resources for information and help with problem gambling
  • Are not misleading
  • Comply with all other regulations adopted by the Lottery Commission

North Carolina betting sites must:

  • Maintain internal security controls approved by the Commission to protect the confidentiality of customers’ private information
  • Undergo an annual third-party security audit
  • Notify the Commission of any security breaches as soon as possible but no later than 72 hours after the incident
  • Provide an option for customers to enable multi-factor authentication on their accounts (such as requiring an input code sent via text when logging in)

Licensed operators must establish procedures for resolving customer disputes and display the following information on their wagering platforms:

  • How customers can submit disputes to the operator
  • How the operator responds to and attempts to resolve customer disputes
  • How customers can submit disputes to the NC Lottery Commission

In addition, online sportsbooks in North Carolina must:

  • Respond to customer disputes in writing within 10 days or seek an extension from the Commission
  • Provide written, detailed explanations to customers when denying their dispute resolution requests
  • Report unresolved disputes to the Commission

North Carolina online sportsbooks must collect the following information from customers during the account registration process:

  • Full legal name
  • Date of birth
  • Residential address
  • SSN or its last four digits
  • Any other information required to verify customers’ identities and to prevent ineligible bettors from signing up

Ineligible bettors include:

  • Anyone under 21
  • Members and employees of the NC Lottery Commission
  • Bettors who have self-excluded
  • Involuntarily excluded bettors
  • Anyone not located in North Carolina
  • Anyone placing wagers on behalf of someone else
  • Employees of licensed sports betting operators
  • Athletes, coaches, trainers, officials, and staff may not place wagers on the sports with which they’re associated
  • Employees and staff of sports leagues may not place wagers on events governed by their leagues

North Carolina Daily Fantasy Sports Apps

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Fantasy sports sites operate in North Carolina and accept customers 18 or older despite a lack of clarity on the legality of DFS.

The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) provides an exception for DFS from federal anti-gambling laws and leaves the issue up to states to decide.

However, North Carolina law does not specifically address fantasy sports apps. This leaves DFS in a grey area, neither prohibited nor explicitly authorized. Even so, all of BettingUSA’s highest-rated DFS sites accept North Carolinians without issue.

Pick’em Fantasy Sports in North Carolina

Fantasy pick’em sports contests are de-facto legal in North Carolina, but it’s uncertain how long that will remain the case.

The North Carolina State Lottery Commission nearly banned fantasy pick’em contests in late 2023 but then relented and promised to revisit the issue later.

The near-ban occurred when the Commission published its proposed sports betting rules that October. A provision in the draft regulations addressing fantasy sports defined what constitutes legal DFS contests and explicitly prohibited pick’em-style games.

Pick’em fantasy operators and proponents vehemently objected the proposal. The Coalition for Fantasy Sports claimed North Carolina lawmakers had assured operators like PrizePicks and Underdog Fantasy would be able to continue offering fantasy pick’em contests once they passed the bill that legalized sports wagering.

In a statement, the Coalition urged the Lottery Commission to honor the “letter and spirit” of the law.

North Carolina’s fantasy pick’em operators scored a significant win one month later when the Commission reconvened, removed all DFS provisions from its final sports betting regulations, and unanimously approved them.

However, fantasy pick’em sites in North Carolina still face future regulatory risk. Commission officials later explained that they removed the pick’em provisions to focus on launching online sports betting by the targeted launch date of March 11th, 2024 before taking up the DFS issue.

North Carolina Fantasy Sports History

North Carolina’s first attempt to legalize daily fantasy sports occurred in 2017 via HB 279.

The bill would have formally legalized DFS contests, implemented some basic consumer protection regulations, and required DFS operators to register with the Department of the Secretary of State. Registration fees would have been set to equal to 10% of the previous year’s revenues, but no less than $2,500 and no more than $10,000.

Before it could become law, HB 279 was shot down by lawmakers under pressure from anti-gambling groups. The North Carolina Family Policy Council called it a “massive expansion of legalized gambling,” and succeeded in killing the bill before it could advance far in the legislative process.

Lawmakers tried again in 2019 with the introduction of HB 929. This bill would have established the North Carolina Gaming Commission, provided regulations for daily fantasy sports, and consolidated regulations over lotteries, bingo, raffles, and boxing under the new commission.

HB 929 failed in the House under pressure from anti-gambling representatives and former law enforcement officials who opposed the measure for various reasons.

As lawmakers’ attention turned to sports betting, the topic of fantasy sports fell by the wayside until the North Carolina State Lottery Commission announced plans to address pick-em style contests once it got online sports betting up and running.

North Carolina Horse Racing Betting

Horse racing betting is legal and regulated in North Carolina, thanks to laws approved in 2019 and 2023. The 2019 law authorized tribal casinos to accept wagers in-person, while the 2023 law legalized online horse racing betting. Two tribal casinos offer simulcasting and pari-mutuel wagering, and legal online horse racing betting should start by June 2024.

Fans can read more about horse racing betting in North Carolina and get the latest updates below:

North Carolina Online Gambling

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Only a few states so far have legalized online poker and online casino games, and North Carolina is definitely not one of those. The deck is stacked against North Carolina legalizing either industry within a reasonable time frame.

Even live poker is rare in North Carolina. It wasn’t until 2012 that the state authorized casinos to host live poker games and tournaments. Currently, Harrah’s Cherokee casinos are the only places in the entire state where players may play a game of real money poker and remain on the right side of the law.

The same applies to online gambling in North Carolina. State law prohibits all gambling and lawmakers have made no efforts to pass legislation to authorize online casinos or poker sites.

North Carolina Online Lottery

North Carolina sold its first lottery ticket in 2006 and now operates a standard range of major draw games such as Powerball and Mega Millions, instant win scratch cards and keno. The NC Online Lottery sells tickets to multistate and local drawings but does not offer instant win games at this time.

State residents 18 and older can buy the following games online at NCLottery.com or through the official mobile app:

  • Powerball
  • Mega Millions
  • Lucky for Life
  • Cash 5

The North Carolina Lottery flirted with the idea of offering instant win games online back in 2017 but relented amid strong opposition from the NC Retail Merchants Association and anti-gaming groups such as the NC Family Policy Council.

The North Carolina Retail Merchants Association opposed the idea out of fear online sales would hurt retail sales while the Family Policy Council warned of the dangers of allowing people to play online from their mobile devices.

North Carolina Gambling Laws

North Carolina gambling laws take the approach of barring everything except for what is specifically authorized. § 14-292 of the State Statutes lays it out in plain text:

Except as provided in Chapter 18C of the General Statutes or in Part 2 of this Article, any person organization that operates any game of chance or any person who plays at or bets on any game of chance at which any money, property or other thing of value is bet, whether the same be in stake or not, shall be guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor. This section shall not apply to a person who plays at or bets on any lottery game being lawfully conducted in any state.

Only two tribal casinos are authorized to operate games of chance in the state. These are the Harrah’s Cherokee in Cherokee, NC and Harrah’s Cherokee Valley River in Murphy. The one located in Cherokee is the biggest of the two with a 150,000 square foot gaming area complete with video poker, slot machines, table games, and poker. The resort also has a 1,108 room casino, spa, 11 restaurants, a golf club, and a night lounge.

Apart from that, North Carolina doesn’t offer much in the way of betting. State Statue § 14-309.20 outlaws greyhound racing and the only horse racing tracks do not allow parimutuel wagering. The state also has no exception for home poker games.

Online gambling isn’t specifically mentioned in any of North Carolina’s gaming laws, but the broad language of the law leaves little doubt as to the legality of placing wagers with any entity not authorized to offer gambling.

North Carolina Sports Betting FAQ

Yes. North Carolina legalized online sports betting in June 2023.

Individuals must be 21 or older to visit retail sportsbooks or bet on sports online in North Carolina.

Yes. North Carolina law allows sportsbooks and betting sites to accept wagers on college games. Unlike some states, North Carolina does not restrict licensed sportsbooks from accepting bets on in-state teams. So, fans can bet on the Duke Blue Devils, North Carolina Tar Heels, and other local universities.

Yes. North Carolina law allows licensed sports betting operators to accept wagers on esports competitions.

No. North Carolina law permits Bitcoin betting deposits, but none of the state’s licensed sportsbooks accept cryptocurrency.

The North Carolina State Lottery Commission regulates sports betting, issues licenses, and adopts new regulations as needed.