17 and Counting: North Carolina the Latest State to Legalize Sports Betting

TheComputerGroup · Jul 26, 2019

Sports bettors in North Carolina got their wish on Friday: Gov. Roy Cooper signed a bill into law that will legalize wagering in the state’s two tribal casinos.

Mobile betting — which has accounted for more than 80% of the $3 billion in bets New Jersey handled in its first year of legalization — will not be available in the Tar Heel State.

Unlike other states, North Carolina will allow bettors to wagers on collegiate sporting events involving teams from the state.

The bill effectively gives North Carolina’s two casinos, Harrah’s Cherokee Valley River Casino & Hotel and Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort, the exclusive rights to offer sports betting in the state. Both of those casinos are located in the western portion of North Carolina, 3-4 hours away from Charlotte via car and 5-6 hours away from Raleigh.

With the move, North Carolina becomes the 17th state in the U.S. to have legal sports betting — 10 of which have gone legal this year.

The Supreme Court’s May 2018 ruling that overturned the federal ban on sports betting has allowed states outside of Nevada to legalize it if they wish. Since that ruling, we’ve seen the following states make the move: Arkansas, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee and West Virginia.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.actionnetwork.com/news/north-carolina-legalizes-sports-betting-2019

seldomseen · Jul 26, 2019

Anyone know how far off GA is?

TheComputerGroup · Jul 27, 2019

seldomseen said:
Anyone know how far off GA is?

Georgia

In early 2019, a 12-page bill was introduced in Georgia "to provide for sports betting in this state." The bill would also establish a Georgia sports betting director position and "provide for the comprehensive regulation of sports betting and related activities." Under the bill, betting is allowed on professional and college sports, but not youth sports. No more than 10 "sports betting permits" are allowed under the draft legislation.

Georgia lawmakers are now looking at a resolution that would lead to a state law amendment legalizing in-person sports betting in facilities that have a license. The measure is House Resolution 380, which would see the creation of a new framework by the Georgia General Assembly. Facilities would be able to apply for one of these licenses for sports betting.

There is no mention of online or mobile sports betting in this resolution. There also are no details as to the cost of these licenses or what sort of tax rates would be set. However, it does break down where the tax revenues will go, one of the key areas being education. This amendment is only applicable to sports betting and not any other forms of gambling.

The House Committee on Regulated Industries will now look at this resolution. It has already been read twice in the House.

Georgia’s neighbor North Carolina is also looking at introducing legal sports betting. Senator Jim Davis is pushing Senate Bill 154, which would see the tribal facilities in the state being able to offer sports betting.

Currently, they can offer slot machines, table games and raffles. This bill would allow sports betting on professional and college sporting events. There is no mention of mobile or online sports betting, so gamblers would have to place their sports bets at the tribal facilities.