North Carolina Sportsbetting Bill Fails, But Hope Remains

Mobile sportbsetting in North Carolina suffered a major setback this week, as a bill legalizing the activity was shot down, with a second bill passing by with a one-vote margin.

The House voted down Senate Bill 688 with a 52-49 margin, but approved Senate Bill 38 with a 51-50 margin. The issue at hand is that Senate Bill 38 has not passed the Senate, and would need to do so before June 30th, or else it'll be reset and reintroduced in the next legislative year.

If the bill doesn't get passed, it will likely mean that sportsbetting regulation won't take place until next year at the earliest.

Senate Bil 38 would have higher tax rates and fees for operators than SB 688, and it would have had a $1 million application fee and a $1 million renewal fee after five years.

Sportsbetting is currently only legal at two tribal casinos in the state.

We're following the story and will update readers as appropriate.