The North Carolina Lottery Commission on Thursday approved the first set of rules for the state's mobile sports betting market. The rules had been discussed Tuesday by the commission's sports betting committee.'
Removing a definition of fantasy sports contests from the proposed rules was among the commission’s most meaningful actions. The definition would have jeopardized the ability of fantasy sports operators like Underdog Fantasy and PrizePicks to offer pick'em-style fantasy games in North Carolina.'
Lottery commissioners have determined they'd rather not weigh in on the debate over whether those games are legal fantasy games or unregulated sports betting, which has been a point of contention in other states, so they're aiming to avoid the conversation altogether for now.'
“We have decided … that we want to take the time right now to focus on our main goal, which is getting licensees up, operating, and running so we can start having sports wagering in the state,” said the lottery's chief legal officer, Billy Traurig. “To focus on this would be a distraction.”'