At Tuesday’s meeting of the North Carolina Lottery Commission, Sterl Carpenter, deputy director of sports betting, released the catalog of wagerable sports, leagues and bet types for the state of North Carolina.
Carpenter explained that anyone can petition to have an event or wager added to the catalog, but that petitioner must have a licensed sports wagering operator as a sponsor.
The catalog follows similar documents created in other states and features both men’s and women’s sports.
It allows for betting on drafts (under specific situations), betting on sporting awards, does not allow wagering on youth sports or injuries, and, as of now, does not include any esports betting.
Carpenter indicated that esports markets would be added after working with an “appropriate governing body” to determine the best course of action.
So, what sports and wagers will be on the table when online sports betting in North Carolina launches?
Here is the preliminary list. NCSharp will update it after any changes.
Sports you can bet on in North Carolina
Forty-five sports can receive betting action under the current catalog. We list the sport and the league and/or governing body that regulates the approved leagues and events.
| Sport | League/Sanctioned Event | Sport | League/Sanctioned Event | Sport | League/Sanctioned Event |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Rules Football | Australian Football League | Golf | PGA, International Events, Augusta National Golf Club, The R&A, USGA, The Match Series | Rugby Union | World Rugby, SANZAAR |
| Badminton | Badminton World Federation (BWF) | Handball | International Handball Federation (IHF), European Handball Federation (EHF) | Sailing | America's Cup, Prada Cup Challenger Selection Series |
| Baseball | MLB, NCAA Baseball, World Baseball Classic, Minor League Baseball (AAA), Japan Nippon Professional Baseball, Chinese Professional Baseball League, KBO League, Athletes Unlimited Softball, Northwoods League, Texas Collegiate League, Mexican Baseball League (LMB), Baseball Series de Caribe (CBC) | Hockey - Field | International Hockey Federation (FIH) | Snooker | IWGA, WPA, WPBSA, World Snooker |
| Basketball | NBA, WNBA, NCAA, Euro League/Euro Cup, FIBA, The Basketball Tournament (TBT), Big3 | Hockey - Ice | AHL, NHL, International Ice Hockey Federation, NCAA | Soccer | FIFA and FIFA-member Federations, International Champions Cup, NCAA |
| Biathlon | International Biathlon Union | Jai - Alai | World Jai-alai League | Soccer Beach | Beach Soccer World Cup, Beach Soccer Worldwide Intercontinental Cup, Euro Beach Soccer League |
| Bowling | PBA | Lacrosse | National Lacrosse League (NLL), Premiere Lacrosse League (PLL), World Lacrosse, NCAA | Special Events | Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest, Major League Eating Sanctioned Events |
| Bowls | Professional Bowls Association, World Bowls | MMA | UFC, Dana White's Contender Series, Bellator, ONE Championship, PFL, ABCCS members or other US State Associations' sanctioned events | Softball | Athletes Unlimited Softball, NCAA |
| Boxing | WBA, WBC, WBO, IBF, BBoC, Association of Boxing Commissions and Combative Sports, African Boxing Union (WB), British and Irish Boxing Authority (BIBA), International Boxing Association (IBA), International Boxing Organization (IBO), International Boxing Union (IBU), Irish Athletic Boxing Association (IABA), Women's International Boxing Association (WIBA), WBF, World Boxing Union (WBU), Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship | Motorsports | FIA, FIM, IndyCar, XFinity Series, Camping World Truck Series, NASCAR, USAC, NHRA | Summer Athletics | Commonwealth Games, WA World Championships, WA Tour Events, WA Continental Tour Events, EAA Championships |
| Cricket | International Cricket Council | Netball | Netball New Zealand, Netball Australia | Swimming | World Championships |
| Cycling | Union Cycliste International (UCI) | Olympics (Winter and Summer) | IOC | Table Tennis | ITTF international and domestic events, TT Elite Series Poland, TT Star Pro Series, TT Trophy Hungary |
| Darts | British Darts Organization, MODUS, Professional Darts Corporation (PDC), World Dart Federation (WDF) | Pesapallo | Finnish Pesapallo Association | Tennis | ATP Tour, ATP Challenger Tour, Grand Slam events, ITF Tour, WTA Tour, USTA, World Team Tennis, NCAA |
| Disc | American Ultimate Disc League | Pool | World Pool Billiard Association | Volleyball | International Volleyball Federational (FIVB), NCAA |
| Floorball | International Floorball Federation (IFF) | Rodeo | PBR, PRCA | Volleyball beach | AVP, FIVB, NCAA |
| Football - American | NFL, CFL, USFL, Indoor Football League, NCAA, College Senior Bowl, XFL | Rowing | Fédération Internationale des Sociétés d'Aviron (FISA) | Waterpolo | FINA World Championships, FINA World Cup, FINA World League, Ligue Européenne de Natation (LEN) European Championships, LEN Champions League, Adriatic League, Italian Serie A1 |
| Futsal | Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) | Rugby League | International Rugby League | Winter Athletics | FIS World Cup, International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation World Championship, International Luge Federation World Championship, International Skating Union World Cup and World Championship, FIS Four Hills Tournament, X-Games |
Types of bets you can make in North Carolina
The catalog also lists the approved bet types on offer in North Carolina. Currently, 11 broad categories of bet types are allowed. We list each below alongside the NCLC’s definition of the bet type.
| Bet Type | Definition |
|---|---|
| Exchange Wagering | A form of wagering in which two or more Persons place identically opposing wagers in a given market, allowing Players to wager on both winning and non-winning outcomes in the same event. |
| In-Game Wagering | Placing a Sports Wager during a sporting event which is not an in-play wager. |
| In-Play Wagers | Proposition Wagers placed on a specific action during the sporting event which could not be wagered on prior to the start of the sporting event. |
| Moneyline | Sports Wagers placed on the winner of a sporting event. |
| Over-Under | Sports Wagers on the total of approved numerical aspects of one or more sporting events. |
| Parlays | Sports Wagers that combine two or more individual wagers and are dependent on all individual wagers winning. |
| Pool | An offering where Players may make selections of outcomes on a set number of sporting events and Wager type on a Card to enter for a chance to win the Prize Pool or a portion thereof. |
| Proposition Wagers | Sports Wagers placed on the occurrence or non-occurrence of a specific outcome of events within a sporting event not directly involving the sporting event’s final outcome. |
| Single-game wagers | One or more Sports Wagers which take place on or within a single sporting event. |
| Straight Wagers | Sports Wagers placed on a sporting event’s final outcome prior to its start that will be determined by an over-under, point spread, moneyline or total score. |
| Teaser Wagers | Parlays where the player adjusts the point spread or over-unders resulting in a change of payout. |
Competitive eating makes the cut; disc golf does not
Among the 45 bettable sports, competitive eating is the only “sports-adjacent” market on the table. That means no wagering on professional slap-fighting, cornhole and dodgeball bets in North Carolina.
On a more serious note, the NCLC has left disc golf off the list of wagerable sports. This comes as a bit of a shock. The disc golf governing body, the Professional Disc Golf Association, has been around for nearly 50 years. Moreover, North Carolina hosts many PDGA tour events, including this year’s Disc Golf Pro Tour Championship at Nevin Park in Charlotte. The state is renowned for some of the best disc golf courses in the country.
As noted at Tuesday’s NCLC meeting, anyone–with the support of an approved sponsor–can petition the NCLC to add a new sport. So, we may see betting on disc golf and cornhole (probably not marble racing though) at some point in the future should North Carolinians show an appetite for them.
Anyone looking to add a sport to the catalog must fill out the petition at ncgaming.gov.
Image Credit: John Minchillo / AP Images
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