North Carolina Sports Betting: Best NC Betting Sites

Sports betting is legal in North Carolina, with three retail sportsbooks open in the state. Additionally, online wagering is expected to launch at the start of 2024. At long last, bettors in North Carolina are on track to get a taste of legal online sports betting.

In the meantime, entering daily fantasy sports competitions remains legal in North Carolina. The state legislature did not pass specific legislation that regulates and taxes DFS operations; however, it has not moved to outlaw the contests either. That means the popular sports fantasy games offered by DFS operators like FanDuel and DraftKings can be played within the state of North Carolina.

Read on for more about the status of legal sports betting in North Carolina, which sportsbooks we expect to launch in the state, whether college sports betting will be allowed, when online sports betting will be available in the state, and much more. Consider this your guide to all things North Carolina sports betting.

The best North Carolina Fantasy Sites – December 2023

More on North Carolina Sports Betting

North Carolina Sports Betting: Current Status

North Carolina falls in line with many southern American states, in that it has adopted a rather cautious and conservative stance about most forms of gambling. But that’s about to change — let’s go over the recent history of NC betting.

In North Carolina there are no casinos outside of the three tribal locations in remote parts of the state. With this in mind, it was something of a surprise when the North Carolina authorities moved forward with an agreement in 2021 to make sports betting legal at existing tribal casinos (read: owned and operated by local Native American tribes).

Many thought that the limited casino locations would be the end of it, but the legislature saw the impact of legal sports betting in neighboring Virginia, particularly when casinos with retail sportsbooks started opening up in towns near the North Carolina border and the parking lots were full of cars with North Carolina license plates.

That may not be the only reason why legislators in North Carolina ended up passing HB 347, a bill to fully legalize online sports betting in the state, but it certainly did factor into their decision-making process.

Previous years had not yielded much progress on the legal sports betting front, but with so many other states choosing to bring online sports betting to their states and rake in all the tax revenue from the sportsbooks, legislators saw this as a good opportunity to give the citizens what they want and generate some revenue for important government programs.

On June 6, 2023, the North Carolina Senate passed the final version of HB 347, the law that authorizes sports wagering, after it was passed by the North Carolina House of Representatives, and the Governor signed the bill into law a few days later. That started the online sports betting legal process, which is continuing apace. Sports betting is coming to North Carolina!

North Carolina Mobile Sports Betting: Launch Details

Now that we know sports betting is legal in North Carolina, let’s go over some details of what mobile sports betting will look like when it launches in 2024.

• The North Carolina Lottery Commission is in charge of regulating the licensed sports betting operators that will eventually launch in the state
• Currently, it looks like anywhere from 8 to 11 sportsbooks will be able to launch. Previously, that number was 12, but a new restriction will require sportsbooks to launch in partnership with a pro sporting team or venue.
• The tax rate for sports betting revenue will be 18 percent, and licenses will cost operators a hefty $1 million per year for the first five years.
• Fans of the North Carolina Tar Heels and Duke Blue Devils will be very happy to learn that North Carolina betting sites will be allowed to accept wagers on college sports, including college basketball. That’s right, NC sports betting will include wagering on college sports– a big relief.

North Carolina Sports Betting Timeline

Here’s a breakdown of the events leading up to legal online sports betting in NC:

• 🗓 December 15, 2023: News of a partnership between Fanatics Sportsbook and the Carolina Hurricanes becomes public knowledge, thus opening the door for this platform to launch when NC online sports betting goes live.
• 🗓 December 5, 2023: ESPN BET announces their intention to partner with Quail Hollow Club (a PGA Tour venue), securing market access in NC.
• 🗓 November 29, 2023: State regulators announced that sports betting will not be available before the Super Bowl. It was also announced that sportsbooks will be able to begin the application process on or about December 27, 2023. The regulators will then review the applications and approve or deny them sometime in early 2024. Sports betting will launch sometime after that process, which won’t wrap up before Super Bowl Sunday, February 11, 2024.
• 🗓 November 16, 2023: The North Carolina State Lottery Commission approved its first set of rules governing sports betting in the state. A ruling on whether DFS pick-em will be allowed was put off until a later date. Other than that the rules are pretty straightforward. All the major sports will be allowed, but a notable inclusion is esports, which are not available in every state.
• 🗓 November 14, 2023: The North Carolina State Lottery Commission announces that online sports betting is not likely to go live by early January 2024.
• 🗓 October 6, 2023: NC House Speaker Tim Moore says casinos were “doomed” this year by trying to legalize them, but hopes to redouble efforts in the 2024 session. The effect this has on the launch date for NC online sportsbooks remains unclear.
• 🗓 September 28, 2023: Regulators confirm that any party wanting to launch a sportsbook in NC must partner with a local sporting team owner or venue (including race tracks and golf courses).
• 🗓 September 5, 2023: The NC Education Lottery hires Gaming Labs International to provide testing, certification, and support. GLI is well known in the online betting industry and a leader in safe, responsible gambling services worldwide.
• 🗓 August 21, 2023: It’s reported that the North Carolina Education Lottery will not be ready in time for the Super Bowl, as was previously planned. Days later, the NC Lottery states that they are progressing steadily with online sports betting, while talks about iGaming (online casino betting) continue.
• 🗓 August 8, 2023: ESPN BET Sportsbook announces its intention to launch in the newly-minted NC market.
• 🗓 July 28, 2023: Former Massachusetts Gaming Commission exec Sterl Carpenter as Deputy Executive Director of Gaming Compliance and Sports Betting.
• 🗓 July 21, 2023: A draft of a bill to expand legal casino gambling in NC hits the legislative floor, with an expected vote in August.
• 🗓 June 20, 2023: The governing body in charge of sports betting in NC meets. The North Carolina Education Lottery will oversee legal online sports betting in the state.
• 🗓 June 14, 2023: NC Governor Roy Cooper signs HB 347 into law, officially legalizing online sports betting at the state level. The bill, now law, is expected to take effect on January 8, 2024. Sports betting is hoped launch at that time, provided regulators are ready.
• 🗓 June 7, 2023: The North Carolina House approves HB 347.
• 🗓 March 14, 2023: Sen. Tim Moffitt’s HB 347 is presented to the North Carolina legislature.

Is Retail Sports Betting Legal in North Carolina?

Yes, retail sports betting has been legal in the Tar Heel State since it first went live on March 18, 2021. Bettors can legally place wagers at three separate Caesars Sportsbooks located at various tribal casinos. 

What’s going on in North Carolina Sports right now?

Whether you’re interested in betting on the North Carolina Tar Heels to win the NCAA Tournament or LaMelo Ball to win the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award, it’s important to stay up to date on North Carolina’s professional and college sports scene.

Here’s what’s going on in North Carolina sports right now:

• This week, the Carolina Hurricanes take on the Pittsburgh Penguins on 12/21, the New York Islanders on 12/23, and the Nashville Predators on 12/27.
• The Carolina Panthers are currently 4th in the NFC South, due in part to Hayden Hurst and Justin McCray being placed on injured reserve– which has resulted in shockingly low attendance at the home games. They did win on Sunday, 12/17, defeating the Atlanta Falcons, to bring their record up to 2-12. They face Green Bay at home on Christmas Eve.
• The Charlotte Hornets are 7-19 so far this season after a recent loss against Indiana. This week, they’ll face the Denver Nuggets on 12/23 and the LA Clippers on 12/26.
• Duke’s men’s basketball team is 8-3 to start the season after defeating the Baylor Bears at Madison Square Garden. The Blue Devils will now have more than a full week off as they prepare to host Queens College at Cameron Indoor Stadium on 12/30.
• The UNC men’s basketball team, 8-3, is off to a hot start after taking down the undefeated Oklahoma Sooners in Charlotte. Following the win, UNC will return to action at home on 12/29 against Charleston Southern.

Neighboring states with legal online sports betting

Although Carolinians cannot legally place sports wagers online quite yet, two of North Carolina’s neighbors have legal sports betting, and most states within a day’s drive of North Carolina offer it as well. Unfortunately for those in South Carolina, sports betting is not coming anytime soon — but now they can just cross the border into North Carolina to make their sports wagers. Here is the latest on the two states bordering North Carolina that offer sports betting:

Virginia online sports betting is legal and thriving which has surprised a few. Virginia is home to over a dozen sportsbook apps less than a year after the first books appeared in January 2021, and now retail sportsbooks are starting to open at a handful of new casinos across the state.

Tennessee launched online sports betting in November 2020 and online sports betting remains the only way to place wagers legally in the state. There are currently over a dozen sportsbook apps vying for positions in the Volunteer State. 

Sportsbooks Expected to Launch in North Carolina

North Carolina bettors are going to be in for a treat next year. All the biggest names in mobile sports betting are likely to come to the state. Let’s take a look at the biggest names we expect to be available now that the legislature decided to legalize sports betting in the state.

bet365 North Carolina: The global sports betting powerhouse will be in NC due to its recently announced partnership with the Charlotte Hornets, the state’s NBA franchise. While college basketball is king in NC, the NBA is also popular, and the Hornets are the biggest NBA team in the region.

Caesars North Carolina: Caesars Sportsbook already has two retail locations in North Carolina. Both of the state’s existing retail sportsbooks on tribal land are Caesars operations. There is no doubt that Caesars Sportsbook will be one of the first online sportsbooks available in North Carolina. Additionally, Caesars just launched in Maine with a great new customer offer that allows new bettors to get up to $1,000 in bonus bets if their first bet doesn’t win.

BetMGM North Carolina: Few, if any, sportsbooks are available in more states than BetMGM. Already operating in neighboring Tennessee and Virginia, BetMGM will assuredly be the online sportsbook of choice when online sports betting launches in 2024. In legal states, the BetMGM new player promo offer is a Deposit Match up to $1,500.

DraftKings North Carolina: DraftKings is already present in North Carolina as a daily fantasy sports provider, and it will definitely bring its sportsbook to the state once sports wagering is available in 2024.  In fact, there are very few sports betting states in which DraftKings is not part of the market, given its universal popularity. 

FanDuel North Carolina: Speaking of popular, any such move by DraftKings is almost certain to be matched by its DFS competitor. FanDuel will no doubt launch in North Carolina, which is great news for sports bettors in the state. FanDuel is already active in the Tar Heel State as a major daily fantasy sports provider and is sure to be the top NC sports betting site when it begins taking sports bets next year. Plus, FanDuel’s betting partnership with the PGA Tour will help the platform secure mobile market access when the time comes. FanDuel’s new customer offer lets new users bet $5 on any moneyline and get $150 in bonus bets if your bet wins.

Fanatics Sportsbook North Carolina: The newest major sportsbook is a brand familiar to many. Fanatics sells North Carolina Tar Heels gear to the school’s legions of fans, and it will likely bring its new sportsbook to the state as well. Its partnership with the Carolina Hurricanes will help provide the sportsbook with access to the NC market.

ESPN BET North Carolina: ESPN BET went live in 17 states on November 14 and has plans to roll out in North Carolina once sports betting becomes legal. This launch will be possible thanks to the platform’s partnership with Quail Hollow Club, a golf course and PGA Tour event in Charlotte.

History of Sports Betting in North Carolina

It didn’t take long at all for the North Carolina legislature to recognize the potential revenues involved in legalizing sports betting. 

Soon after the landmark repeal of PASPA in 2018, the law was passed to enable the Cherokee tribe’s two licensed casinos to install retail sportsbooks on their premises. 

As well as the Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort and Harrah’s Cherokee Valley River located in the Tar Heel State, a third tribal casino, Catawba Two Kings, opened a retail sportsbook of its own.

North Carolina doesn’t have a long history of gambling. The North Carolina lottery commission has run the state lottery for many years, and will now regulate sports betting in the state.

North Carolina is one of just a handful of states that doesn’t have any horse racing tracks, and the sports betting bill, HB 347, also allows for online wagering on horse racing, which could eventually lead to a new horse racing track being built in the state. Online betting in North Carolina is a big change from what was allowed before, which is why it was a surprise when the legislature decided to pass sports betting legislation in 2023.

North Carolina Sports Teams to Bet On

The city of Charlotte is the center of pro sports, while the wider state boasts major league representation in four of the U.S.’s big five sports. Baseball is the one pro sport that still hasn’t come to the state, though Charlotte does have a AAA minor league team. Unfortunately, there is only one national championship to share between all the state’s pro teams, thanks to the Carolina Hurricanes’ 2006 Stanley Cup triumph. 

Pro sports teams are popular in the state, but North Carolina sports revolve around college sports, specifically college basketball. The Duke Blue Devils, North Carolina Tar Heels, NC State Wolfpack, and other schools all have passionate fan bases that can’t get enough of college sports.

Luckily for college sports fans in the state, college sports betting is allowed as part of the sports wagering law, so all the North Carolina betting sites will feature lots of college sports betting opportunities.

The sports culture in North Carolina is rich and historic, and the implementation of online sports betting will be a massive boon for the continuance of this. College sports in North Carolina will likely stack up with professional sports in terms of the amount of interest garnered by bettors in the state.

Carolina Panthers

In the NFL, the Carolina Panthers are not looked upon in fear like the large cat found in the wild. Rookie Bryce Young was the top pick of the 2023 NFL Draft and has shown some flashes of professional talent, but it has mostly been a rocky 2023 season for him and the Panthers.

The Carolina Panthers have been to the Super Bowl twice this century: once with Jake Delhomme for Super Bowl XXXVIII, and the other with Cam Newton for Super Bowl 50 (both were losses). Fans of the Carolina Panthers will have to stay loyal and wait for that next big opportunity, but maybe Bryce Young can grow and prosper over the next few years to reach the potential the fanbase deserves to see.

Charlotte Hornets

The Charlotte Hornets are one of the young wildcards in the NBA with fresh stars like LaMelo Ball leading the way. Michael Jordan recently sold his majority stake in the team after leading the franchise for over a decade. The Hornets also recently selected Brandon Miller from Alabama second overall in the 2023 NBA draft. Charlotte is looking to develop Ball and Miller into All-Star caliber players so that they can lead them back to being a playoff contender.

Carolina Hurricanes

The Hurricanes are based in Raleigh instead of the popular North Carolina sports city of Charlotte. Carolina has been crowned the Stanley Cup Champions once in their short existence after beating Edmonton in seven games in 2006.

The Carolina Hurricanes haven’t been able to get another Stanley Cup since 2006, but they’ve been one of the top teams in the NHL over the last few years. Their roster is full of goal scoring talent in players like Sebastian Aho, Teuvo Teravainen or Seth Jarvis. The 2023-24 season is looking hopeful for the Hurricanes as they try and get another coveted Stanley Cup. North Carolina sports bettors will look to win a lot of bets and pride as their favorite NHL team continues to play well this season.

Duke Blue Devils

Duke has one of the most popular college basketball programs in the country thanks to Mike Krzyzewski, who helmed the men’s team from 1980-2022. Jon Scheyer has been Duke’s head coach since 2022, and has been winning plenty of games so far, but still has big shoes to fill after Coach K won his program five national titles and brought them to thirteen final fours.

Duke isn’t just known for basketball anymore, though. Their football program has had consecutive winning seasons in the ACC, one of the toughest college football conferences in the nation. North Carolina sports bettors will likely be wagering on the Duke Blue Devils in as many sports as they can.

North Carolina Tar Heels

The UNC Tar Heels are only a half-hour drive from Duke’s legendary basketball campus, but they’ve brought their programs into college basketball history just like Duke has. When you hear UNC, the mind immediately goes to legendary coaches like Dean Smith and Roy Williams, or players like Michael Jordan and James Worthy.

The men’s program most recently won the national title in 2017 and are now being helmed by Hubert Davis, who replaced Roy Williams in 2021. The Tar Heels have stellar football and baseball programs at their university in Chapel Hill as well. It seems like every year a sports program at UNC is capable of winning a national title.

North Carolina State Wolfpack

The NC State Wolfpack Men’s Basketball team has been really struggling in recent memory to make waves in the NCAA. Same goes for football, unfortunately: each team has made tournament appearances, but neither has won a meaningful championship in this century.

That doesn’t mean loyal fans and dedicated athletes aren’t still excited about this team’s hope for the future. Jayden Taylor, recent add as Guard for the Wolfpack, is a big get for the team struggling to make a name for itself in the 2020s.

Wake Forest Demon Deacons

Wake Forest has most recently taken home trophies in men’s football (2021, division winner) and made tournament appearances for women’s basketball (2021) and women’s soccer (2021, 2022). They’re still a team to watch as we finally see legal online sports betting come to NC– keep an eye on up-and-comers like Mitch Griffis in the 2023-24 season.

North Carolina Sports Betting FAQs

Is sports betting legal in North Carolina?

Yes, sports wagering is legal in North Carolina. Right now NC sports betting is limited to two retail sportsbooks at tribal casinos in the western part of the state. But the legislature legalized online sports betting in 2023, which means that mobile sports betting will launch sometime in early 2024.

Is it illegal to sports bet online in North Carolina?

Right now, online sports betting is legal but not available yet in North Carolina. The sports betting legislation signed into law means that legalized sports betting will be available in the state, but not until early 2024. So you can’t make online sports betting wagers yet, but NC sports betting is coming soon.

Can I play FanDuel or DraftKings daily fantasy games in North Carolina?

Yes, you can play both FanDuel and DraftKings daily fantasy games in the Tar Heel State. 

Is Caesars sportsbook legal in North Carolina?

Caesars Sportsbook is already live in North Carolina. Both of the state’s existing retail sportsbooks on tribal land (Harrah’s Cherokee Valley River and Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort) have Caesars-branded sportsbooks.

What sportsbooks are coming to North Carolina?

While there could be up to 11 sportsbooks welcomed into the Tar Heel State, the most likely candidates come from some of the biggest names. Sportsbooks that currently have partnerships and thus the foundation to launch when NC sports betting goes live include bet365, ESPN BET, FanDuel, and Fanatics Sportsbook.