North Carolina’s sports betting bill has been sitting in the same state Senate committee for nearly a month. Progress stopped as soon as the bill passed the House and was sent to the Senate.
The proposed legislation would finally make online sports betting in North Carolina a reality.
However, the bill can’t become law until it goes through the entire process. Thankfully for sports fans in the state, there’s still plenty of time left for lawmakers to make that happen.
Sports betting bill soars through House
It didn’t take long for North Carolina’s sports betting bill to make serious progress. It was off to the races once it was introduced in the state’s House of Representatives.
The proposed legislation cleared four committee hearings and three readings in a matter of days.
The bill’s third reading acted as its final seal of approval from the House before it was sent to the Senate. It passed its final House vote by a healthy 64-45 margin.
That vote took place on March 29. Since then, the bill hasn’t moved an inch on the Senate side of the process.
Crossover deadline is the priority
North Carolina’s sports betting bill has sat in the Rules and Operations of the Senate committee for nearly a month. That would likely raise alarm bells if the crossover deadline wasn’t looming.
New bills must clear both chambers of the Legislature before becoming law. The sports betting bill, for example, started in the House and is now navigating the Senate.
While the sports betting bill has already crossed over, many Senate bills haven’t moved as quickly.
This year’s crossover deadline is May 4, so if a bill doesn’t reach the opposite chamber by that date, it’s effectively dead for this legislative session.
Since Senate committees are trying to push their bills through ahead of that deadline, House bills like sports betting are on the back burner for now.
Plenty of time left for the sports betting bill
The Tar Heel State’s sports betting bill is stuck in the mud for now, but that won’t be the case forever. Senate committees will have time for House bills after the crossover deadline passes.
The state’s legislative session began Jan. 11, and this is one of the major deadlines throughout the process.
North Carolina’s session doesn’t end until Aug. 31, so several months of runway are left for sports betting.
With that in mind, the faster things get moving, the better.
The current plan is to launch sports betting on Jan. 8, 2024. The faster the bill becomes law, the easier to make that target launch date a reality.
News Update: On June 14, Gov. Roy Cooper signed online sports betting bill HB 347 into law. The launch window for online sportsbooks runs from Jan. 8, 2024 to June 14, 2024. Check out all the expected welcome offers in our complete guide to NC sports betting promos.
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