In its first significant move since being tasked with regulating North Carolina’s expanded sports betting industry, the North Carolina Lottery Commission has hired a deputy executive director of gaming compliance and sports betting.
Sterl Carpenter, who has spent the past eight years with the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, will join the NCLC to lead its gaming compliance and sports betting division, the North Carolina Education Lottery announced Friday afternoon.
The position will oversee a new department within the NCLC to lead its sports betting program, the lottery said in a news release.
North Carolina sports betting was expanded beyond retail betting at the state’s three tribal casinos in June. Gov. Roy Cooper signed into law a bill that made online sports betting and horse-race betting legal in the Tar Heel State. The NCLC has a window that runs from Jan. 8 to June 14 to launch the new industry.
Carpenter’s sports betting credentials
Carpenter’s most-recent role at the Massachusetts Gaming Commission was sports wagering operations manager. Before that, he was the regulatory compliance manager. The lottery said Carpenter has 30 years of experience in the gaming industry.
Massachusetts legalized sports betting last August. It launched in retail casinos on Jan. 31, and online sports betting began March 10.
“After an extensive search, we have selected an experienced professional to serve in the newly-created role of Deputy Executive Director of Gaming Compliance & Sports Betting,” Mark Michalko, executive director of the lottery, said in a news release. “Carpenter has experience in all aspects of regulations and licensing as well as compliance. We’re pleased to have someone with Carpenter’s experience and expertise leading this new gaming program in our state.”
Carpenter starts Wednesday, a little more than five months before the North Carolina sports betting launch window opens. He will be responsible for developing, implementing and managing a compliance framework for regulating sports betting, the lottery said.
A full plate for the NCLC
In addition to its primary role of overseeing the NC lottery, the NCLC is being asked by state lawmakers to regulate all new gaming in the state. On top of its new responsibility for sports betting and horse racing, a proposal to add three commercial casinos in North Carolina names the NCLC as the casino gaming regulator.
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