NC legislators pass sports betting expansion study bill

North Carolina’s legislature has passed a bill to conduct a study into the expansion of sports betting and the establishment of a new regulatory body in the state.

The bill must still be ratified by Governor Roy Cooper become it passes into law.

Senate Bill 574 was originally intended to create a new regulatory body, the North Carolina Gaming Commission, which itself would conduct a study into expanding sports betting in North Carolina.

However, when the bill passed to a conference committee after the Senate made significant changes, this removed the language that would have seen the state Lottery Commission converted into the Gaming Commission, giving it a broader regulatory scope.

The Lottery Commission will now contract an independent third party to research the effects of creating a gaming commission and expanding sports betting beyond tribal lands. It will present its findings Joint Legislative Oversight Committee by April 15, 2020.

Read more on iGB North America.