North Carolina legislators consider legalizing online sports gambling

North Carolina legislators consider legalizing online sports gambling

Article brief provided by The Carolina Journal
  • Alex Baltzegar, The Carolina Journal
February 2, 2023 4:08 PM
  • Alex Baltzegar, The Carolina Journal
  • North Carolina

North Carolina legislators are planning a new push to legalize online sports betting in 2023. The Tar Heel state’s neighbors, Virginia and Tennessee, have already legalized online sports betting. In contrast, South Carolina and Georgia have refrained.

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Senate leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, said he thinks there will be enough support this year for a sports gambling bill to pass.

Senate Bill 688 (S.B. 688), a bill that would have made sports betting legal in N.C., passed the state Senate and nearly cleared the state House last year. Sen. Jim Perry, R-Lenoir, and Sen. Paul Lowe, D-Forsyth, were the bill’s lead sponsors.

S.B. 688 passed the state Senate in August 2021 by a 26-19 vote margin but failed in the state House by a 49-52 vote. Proponents of the bill had been optimistic about its chances of gaining House approval.