Regulators have produced the first set of rules they plan to use to oversee North Carolina sports betting.
The North Carolina State Lottery Commission’s Sports Betting Committee unanimously approved draft regulations staffers presented during the panel’s first meeting Tuesday. Those 48 rules do not take effect immediately. Rather, they now will go through a public comment and review period lasting through Nov. 1. The lottery also has scheduled an Oct. 27 hearing in Raleigh to take comments.
Sterl Carpenter, the lottery’s deputy executive director for gaming compliance and sports betting, told the committee that more proposed rules would be forthcoming.
“On this maiden voyage for rules, we’re trying out a process for the first time and working to put in place foundational rules,” he said.
The proposed rules have been posted on the lottery’s sports betting webpage.
Fantasy Pick’ Em Operators Targeted
Many of the proposed rules are mundane for the industry and include definitions for common sports betting terms. The package also includes the processes for potential licensees to submit their applications and fees. Carpenter added that staffers will present the committee and commission with proposed copies of the license application form for their review.
The proposed rules also include guidelines for fantasy sports operators that target specific games some in the industry offer. Under the definition of fantasy contests, the lottery wants to prohibit any fantasy game “based on proposition wagering or contests that involve, result in, or have the effect of mimicking proposition wagering or other forms of Sports Wagering.” It also includes a rule barring operators from offering games in which entrants choose whether players or “a single real-world team” will surpass a certain statistical benchmark like points scored.
With the rule, North Carolina would become the latest state seeking to bar fantasy operators from offering prop pick ’em games that emulate parlay wagers offered by sports betting operators. Michigan enacted a similar rule just last week, and New York gaming officials did so earlier this month.
Lottery Using Expedited Approval Process
North Carolina lottery officials say they are using a process that will hasten the commission’s ability to approve rules. Carpenter said that the goal is to have all the regulations in place so the lottery can launch sports betting by June 15, the deadline lawmakers put in place when they passed the sports betting law earlier this year. The earliest North Carolina sports betting apps can start is on Jan. 8.
The rules also will apply to parimutuel wagering, which was also approved when the state legislature passed House Bill 347.
Carpenter said additional rules will be brought to the committee within the next month, so those proposals can also undergo public review. Stay close as the news unfolds to BetCarolina.com, where you also will find the best North Carolina sportsbook promos.
