Retail sports betting in North Carolina has remained on hold since sports betting launched in March, and the NC Lottery Sports Betting Committee hasn’t announced plans to raise the issue at its meeting in September.
In the six months since sports betting launched, eight NC online sportsbooks have entered the market.
Under North Carolina law, those online sportsbooks must have a written agreement to seal a partnership with a sports facility, professional sports organization, or tribe to operate. The partnership also gives operators exclusive permission to build a retail sportsbook at or near the sports venue.
If a professional sports organization doesn’t have a permanent facility to house a sportsbook, the operator can open an on-site temporary betting facility that can conduct business up to five days before and after a professional sporting event.
Where the Panthers, Hornets, and Hurricanes stand on retail sportsbooks
Two of the top three pro sports teams in North Carolina have made it clear that opening a retail sportsbook is not a priority.
Carolina Panthers
The state’s most valuable team, the NFL’s $4.1 billion Carolina Panthers, secured a renovation deal with the Charlotte City Council for Bank of America Stadium in early summer. However, the stadium’s overhaul does not include plans for an in-house sportsbook.
FanDuel Sportsbook NC has a marketing agreement with the Panthers as an official sports betting partner, but that deal is vastly different than a written designation agreement with the team that would allow it to open a brick-and-mortar betting facility at the stadium. In fact, FanDuel has its NC sports betting license with the PGA Tour.
The Panthers have yet to sign an agreement with a sportsbook that would allow them to build a sportsbook.
Charlotte Hornets
The Charlotte Hornets are chilly on the idea of adding a sportsbook to the Spectrum Center. The NBA team has a deal with bet365 Sportsbook NC, its exclusive long-term betting partner.
The Hornets’ chief revenue officer, Jacob Gallagher, told the Charlotte Business Journal, “When we look at a retail sportsbook and we talk to other teams and we talk to bet365, right now, with this being a mobile sports betting license where people can bet on their phone, the retail sportsbook wasn’t a priority for us.”
A retail sportsbook offers more value to the venue and the team than it does to the online operator. It’s a draw for some fans, offering a different vantage point on a game. While marginal, these are selling points for the team and venue.
Over 90% of sportsbook operators’ revenue comes from online betting (even more so if the sportsbook is inside a sports facility), so they don’t have the impetus to push for retail expansion. If, like with the Hornets, the team isn’t on board, it’s hard to see a scenario where the Spectrum Center ever adds a sportsbook.
Carolina Hurricanes
The NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes are the outlier. In December 2023, the team announced that it planned to purchase a restaurant across the street from PNC Arena to serve as an interim sportsbook.
Don Waddell, the team’s general manager at the time, indicated that the Hurricanes wanted to buy Backyard Bistro so it could become their temporary betting venue. The purchase was completed in early January, but due to logistical hangups, no retail sportsbook plans have moved forward.
However, plans are underway for a 4,000-square-foot permanent retail sportsbook in PNC Arena, part of an extensive renovation of the stadium and surrounding area to create a sports and entertainment district.
Other entities that could build a retail sportsbook
In addition to the Panthers, the list of entities that are eligible for a sports betting partner but don’t have one includes:
- Charlotte FC
- North Wilkesboro Speedway
- NC Courage
- Catawba Nation
The full list of North Carolina sports betting licenses, operators, and partners is here:
| Sportsbook | Partner | Launch date |
|---|---|---|
| Bet365 | Charlotte Hornets | March 11 |
| BetMGM | Charlotte Motor Speedway | March 11 |
| Caesars Sportsbook | Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians | March 11 |
| DraftKings | NASCAR | March 11 |
| ESPN Bet | Quail Hollow Club | March 11 |
| Fanatics | Carolina Hurricanes | March 11 |
| FanDuel | PGA Tour | March 11 |
| Underdog | Sedgefield Country Club | March 11 |
| TBD | Carolina Panthers | TBD |
| TBD | Charlotte FC | TBD |
| TBD | North Wilkesboro Speedway | TBD |
| TBD | NC Courage | TBD |
| TBD | Catawba Nation | TBD |
Retail sportsbooks proliferate in other states
Currently, the only land-based sports betting in North Carolina is at tribal casinos in rural areas. Compared to other states that have launched sports betting in recent years, North Carolina has been slow to ramp up its brick-and-mortar options for bettors.
In Massachusetts, where Sterl Carpenter, the North Carolina State Lottery Commission’s deputy director of sports betting, worked in a related role before he came to the Tar Heel State, three retail sportsbooks opened ahead of online sports betting operators.
Other states host a healthy mix of competitors, from major players to small outfits with minuscule national market share. However, North Carolina’s peculiarity of tying licenses to sports entities and venues effectively squeezes out smaller players.
State’s timeline for in-person sportsbooks is uncertain
The NC Lottery’s Sports Betting Committee last met in late March. The committee focused on amending and clarifying existing rules, and strengthening compliance measures.
The next meeting is on Sept. 18, and no agenda has been announced yet, so it remains to be seen whether retail sports betting will be a topic.
When Van Denton, director of corporate communications at the NC Lottery, was asked in late August about the agency’s timeline for addressing in-person sportsbooks, he replied, “We do not have an update at this time.”
Image Credit: Nell Redmond / AP Images
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