The North Carolina State Lottery Commission announced legal mobile sports betting will begin in less than two months, ahead of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.
The commission announced on Wednesday that gamblers in the state will be allowed to place mobile sports bets beginning on March 11 at 12 p.m. Eastern time. Bettors will be allowed to place wagers on amateur, professional, college, and electronic sports.
The state also announced that bettors may begin registering and placing deposits into sportsbooks on March 1 but can not place wagers until March 11.
The launch date comes nearly nine months after Gov. Roy Cooper (D-NC) signed the law authorizing sports betting in the Tar Heel State. The law had given state officials at the commission until June 15 to begin sports betting within the state. The start date for sports betting comes just before the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, but it will miss the NFL playoffs and Super Bowl in February.
North Carolina becomes the 28th state to legalize online sports betting, along with Washington, D.C. Florida was the most recent state to permit sports betting after the Supreme Court allowed a compact between the Seminole Tribe of Florida and the state to go forward.
The Seminole Tribe launched sports betting in the Sunshine State in December, including mobile sports betting through its Hard Rock Bet app. Sports betting in Florida still faces a legal challenge before the state Supreme Court, but state leaders have called on the high court to allow it to continue.
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Another state that could legalize sports betting in the near future is Georgia.
Lawmakers in the Peach State are debating legislation to permit sports betting, with several Democratic and Republican leaders in the Georgia General Assembly indicating they would support the measure. Atlanta Braves President Derek Schiller said on Thursday that he is “excited about the opportunity to bring mobile sports betting to Georgia.”
