North Carolina Sports Betting: bet365 Partnership, Fantasy Pick'em Rules on Hold
The end of the year is fast approaching and North Carolina is working hard to get sports betting off the ground in 2024. The latest from North Carolina sports betting brings news of a bet365 Sportsbook partnership, no consideration for fantasy sports, and more. Here are the details.
Charlotte Hornets Partner with bet365 Sportsbook
The bet365 Sportsbook is the first operator to strike a partnership in the state as it hopes to be a major player when the state goes live. The sportsbook operator has struck a deal with the Charlotte Hornets to have branding in the team's arena as well as provide online gambling once legal sports betting is officially live.
This makes bet365 the first sportsbook to score a partnership and guarantees it will be one of the legal and regulated sportsbooks in the state.
DFS Rules Put on Hold
There has been a back-and-forth battle over Daily Fantasy Sports in the state of North Carolina. Recently, the North Carolina Lottery Commission decided to put those rules and definitions on hold. They hope to give the state more time to focus on the upcoming sports betting launch in 2024.
The latest proposed rules have banned pick'em style contests in the state. If North Carolina follows through with the ban, it would join states like New York, Maine, Colorado, Arizona, and Michigan. These states have recently taken action to ban or limit DFS games.
North Carolina Sports Betting Won't Go Live Jan. 8
While we don't have an exact date for a sports betting launch in North Carolina, we do know when sports betting will not start. The North Carolina Sports Betting Committee announced it will not be ready for a launch on January 8, 2024. This would be the first day online betting is officially legal in the state.
According to the sports betting bill passed in June 2023, the state has to go live with online sports betting by June 15, 2024.
Will More Sportsbooks Join bet365?
Since bet365 was able to gain a partnership and become the first sportsbook that we know will be going live in North Carolina, you can bet the other top brands in the country are working hard to form partnerships. There are 12 sportsbook operator licenses up for grabs in the state. The committee is yet to accept applications for licenses but that doesn't mean sportsbooks can't form partnerships with professional teams.
The likes of FanDuel, DraftKings, and BetMGM are probably working hard behind the scenes at the moment to score a partnership. By law, sportsbooks have to team up with professional sports teams or facilities in the state.
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