The most recent effort to legalize online sports betting in North Carolina is one step closer to being a sure winner.
In a packed meeting room on Wednesday, the Senate Commerce and Insurance Committee made a couple of side bets and then pushed along House Bill 347, which provides the opportunity to wager on all sorts of sports through companies that would buy licenses from the state to operate betting facilities.
Sports gambling is seen as a big revenue producer for the state – with a $1 million licensing fee for 10 to 12 betting rooms and then an 18% “privilege tax” on income – although the Senate did not include any of that possible revenue in its recent budget bill (the House had).
