The North Carolina State Lottery Commission checked off an important box Thursday as a legal online sports betting launch in the Tar Heel State approaches. Seven online betting operators were awarded licenses, and Caesars received a service provider license.
As a result of the regulatory step, the seven North Carolina betting apps will begin accepting player registrations Friday at noon ET. Customers can begin taking advantage of North Carolina betting promotions prior to the official launch of online sports betting in North Carolina on March 11.
It's unclear if Caesars Sportsbook will accept registrations beginning on Friday, as it's still waiting for its tribal partner to be granted an operator license. The lottery suggested that additional operator approvals could come in the “near future.”
“Issuing the first interactive sports wagering operator licenses today represents a major milestone in establishing legal sports betting in North Carolina,” Ripley Rand, chair of the North Carolina State Lottery Commission, said in a press release. “North Carolinians can begin signing up for accounts on their mobile devices on Friday with the confidence they will soon be able to make wagers on their favorite sporting events securely and responsibly. We're just 11 days away from the start of sports betting in North Carolina and we will be working every day between now and then to see that our launch is a successful one.”