The North Carolina State Lottery Commission met Wednesday, with the group briefly discussing the state’s mobile sports betting launch in addition to other topics.
North Carolina in the first half of 2024, with legislation mandating the commission get the market up and running before mid-June 2024 at the latest. It’s possible the commission could give approval to launch the market as early as January.
Sterl Carpenter, the commission’s deputy executive director of gaming compliance and sports betting, expressed optimism about at least hitting the mandated June date, even with lawmakers recently altering the state’s mobile system.
“We will get sports betting and parimutuel wagering up and running before the deadline,” Carpenter said.
During the meeting, the commission approved basic rulemaking procedures as it drafts legal sports betting regulations ahead of mobile launch. Chairman Ripley Rand called that step the “starter pistol to get this whole process rolling.”
Request for proposal fruitless 236i4n
In addition to crafting rules, the commission is working on the state’s mobile betting licensing process. The commission posted a request for proposal for an electronic system that applicants could apply through, but the commission wasn’t pleased with the four submissions to handle that work.
“Therefore, the evaluation committee recommended, and the executive director agreed, that it is in the best interest of the commission and the state not to award a contract at this time,” Carpenter said.
The commission will handle application submissions on its own, at least for the time being. Carpenter added that the group will create a new RFP for a system that can “serve the agency for the long term.”
This adds some work to the plate of the regulator, as the goal of adding the system to accept applications was to streamline the licensing process. Staff may see at least some additional work early in the licensing process when it comes to organizing application materials.
What’s next? p603a
The commission formed a new sports betting committee, which consists of Rand as well as commissioners Cari Boyce and Pamela Whitaker. The committee will be chaired by Boyce.
“We’ve determined that putting an individual committee to deal with sports betting issues that don’t fit neatly into the other committees … is an effective way to move things forward with sports betting,” Rand said.
The group is expected to begin meeting soon, discussing sports betting topics as they arise. Official meeting times for the committee have not been set.
The commission expects to hold special meetings in late October and late November with additional sports betting updates and discussions.
