The post North Carolina Lottery Moves Forward With Preliminary Sports Betting Rules appeared first on SportsHandle.
The North Carolina Lottery Commission’s newly formed sports betting committee met for the first time Tuesday. The meeting lasted just under 30 minutes, and the group agreed to basic rule proposals as it works to regulate the state’s mobile sports wagering market.
Proposed rules discussed by the committee Tuesday included sports wagering definitions, general technical descriptions, and a few minor details about the state’s licensing application process — none of which are expected to generate much pushback from operators or other industry stakeholders.
“The proposed rules before you are only a preliminary portion of the extensive rules that staff will propose to the commission,” said Sterl Carpenter, the lottery’s deputy executive director of gaming compliance and sports betting.
Pick’em fantasy endangered
While many of the proposed rules were basic, there’s also a section focused on fantasy sports. That includes language which could signal that North Carolina is ready to join a handful of other states in cracking down on pick’em-style fantasy sports contests that look similar to parlay wagers.
The proposed rules do not allow fantasy sports contests to be “based on proposition wagering or contests that involve, result in, or have the effect of mimicking proposition wagering or other forms of sports wagering.”
Michigan and New York are among the states to recently adjust rules to prevent fantasy operators from running pick’em-style games in their jurisdictions. Underdog Fantasy and PrizePicks currently offer pick’em-style fantasy sports contests in North Carolina.
Upcoming timelines
Written public comments on the rules can be submitted through Nov. 1. There will be a public comment session on Oct. 27 at 9 a.m. Potential speakers need to register in advance to share comments on that date.
The rules will be fully approved soon after the public comment period. Additional rules and more details related to license applications should become available next month.
Perhaps the most noteworthy portion of Tuesday’s meeting was Carpenter confirming that the commission is on pace to meet the legislature’s mid-June deadline for a statewide launch of mobile sportsbooks.
“Importantly, this means we are on track to meet our statutory deadline,” Carpenter said.
Carpenter didn’t elaborate on when, exactly, sportsbooks would be permitted to go live, but the Super Bowl will take place on Feb. 11 and the NCAA basketball tournament begins the following month. Given the interest in college basketball in North Carolina, launching after that major tournament could cost the state tax revenue.
The post North Carolina Lottery Moves Forward With Preliminary Sports Betting Rules appeared first on SportsHandle.
