North Carolina joined 29 other US states in March 2024 in legalizing mobile and online sports wagering across the State. The legalized industry of sports gambling is relatively young, having only experienced recent growth due to a 2018 Supreme Court case, Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association, which concurrently ruled the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) unconstitutional and determined that states have the right to individually and internally regulate sports wagering. PASPA had previously prohibited states from legalizing sports betting.

As there is a booming sports industry and following in North Carolina – including many sports at collegiate, semi-professional, and professional levels – the State is now positioned to accrue significant economic benefits from this legalization. Analysis conducted in advance of the legislation estimated that revenue from this legalization could exceed $100 million annually in the next five years. To that end, sports betting companies such as DraftKings and FanDuel are eager to insert themselves into the North Carolina market, and it seems likely that a significant population will quickly flock to these large sites.

While the legalization of sports betting in North Carolina will certainly have economic benefits, it will be important for sports gambling companies, lawmakers, and policy-makers to consider gambling addiction education programs. This variant of consumer protection protocol must inform youth and adults alike of the harms that gambling addiction can cause as the legal sports betting industry spreads further across the US.

Sources:

https://apnews.com/article/north-carolina-sports-wagering-gambling-9a3689245f942e0750e4abd44675edea

https://www.forbes.com/betting/legal/states-where-sports-betting-is-legal/