Legal sports betting apps will go live in North Carolina after Jan. 8, it was shared at a North Carolina Lottery Commission committee meeting Tuesday.
The commission’s sports betting committee met Tuesday morning to discuss mobile wagering rules. The group also briefly touched on a launch timeline, sharing that a Jan. 8 launch won’t happen. Legislation mandates that North Carolina’s legal mobile sports betting market get up and running between Jan. 8 and mid-June of 2024.
“Thank you … for clarifying that this would not all be done by Jan. 8, otherwise we would be probably meeting daily instead of weekly to get all that done,” Commissioner Cari Boyce said to Chairman Ripley Rand.
Jan. 8 is the date of the college football national championship game. The Super Bowl will take place on Feb. 11, while March Madness begins on March 19, and it’s unclear whether mobile wagering apps will be available by either date.
Pick’em-style games allowed? 2t60z
PrizePicks from operating pick’em-style fantasy games in the state. Specifically, a definition of fantasy sports contests included language that would prevent any fantasy game from being “based on proposition wagering or contests that involve, result in, or have the effect of mimicking proposition wagering or other forms of sports wagering.”
However, that definition is expected to be removed from the sports betting rules following pushback during the public comment period. The sports betting committee cited a desire to focus on sports betting regulations rather than diving into the growing debate about whether the pick’em-style games are a legal fantasy offering or an illegal form of sports betting. Other states, like Michigan, have banned the games.
The committee suggested it will keep tabs on how other states handle pick’em-style games and act accordingly.
“We want to take this time to focus on moving the rules forward, getting the operators licensed, … and have sports betting launched in a timely and efficient manner,” said Billy Traurig, the lottery’s chief legal officer.
Tuesday’s discussion represents a win for fantasy sports operators, although the rules still need to be approved by the full lottery commission at Thursday’s meeting.
Betting catalog shared 311o11
The state’s betting catalog, which includes a relatively standard collection of allowable markets, was discussed Tuesday. Currently, esports are not among the wagering options, but that could change if an operator petitions for their inclusion.
The lottery commission will meet Thursday to discuss rule approvals and discuss the betting cata greater detail. Those are among the next steps for the commission, which also hopes to open up license applications in the near future.
Additionally, a new website (sports betting rules and regulations.
