A plan to legalize sports betting in North Carolina would provide about $300,000 per year to 10 universities across the state whose athletic programs struggle to pay for themselves.
House Bill 347, which was passed with bipartisan support by the House in late March, would legalize sports betting online and in lounges at professional sports venues.
Betting on sports is illegal in North Carolina now except at Cherokee tribal casinos in the western part of the state, where it was approved in 2019, and at Catawba Two Kings Casino in Kings Mountain, west of Charlotte, where it launched last fall.
Gamblers can bet on college and professional games such as football, basketball, baseball, golf and NASCAR racing, but they have to go in person to one of the three casinos.
