North Carolina

Last verified September 27, 2026

By the Legal Sportsbooks US editorial team

North Carolina

Online and retail

Legal since

March 18, 2021 (tribal retail); March 11, 2024 (online)

Minimum age

21 (no state-set age for daily fantasy)

Regulator

North Carolina State Lottery Commission

Licensed apps

7 online sportsbooks

State law

N.C.G.S. 18C-901 et seq. (ch. 18C, art. 9)

Is sports betting legal in North Carolina?

Yes. House Bill 347, signed June 14, 2023 as Session Law 2023-42, legalized statewide sports wagering, and mobile sportsbooks opened at noon on March 11, 2024. You must be 21. The State Lottery Commission licenses and oversees the apps, and three tribal casinos run in-person sportsbooks under their compacts with the state.

Where you can bet

The Commission's licensee list shows seven interactive sports wagering operators: FanDuel Sportsbook, BetMGM, DraftKings, Fanatics Sportsbook, bet365, theScore Bet and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians' Tribal Casino Gaming Enterprise, whose app runs on Caesars Sportsbook as a licensed service provider. theScore Bet holds the license Penn Sports Interactive launched as ESPN BET. Underdog, the eighth operator at launch, stopped taking bets on December 16, 2025.

In-person betting is limited to tribal land. The Eastern Band runs sportsbooks at Harrah's Cherokee in Cherokee and Harrah's Cherokee Valley River in Murphy, and the Catawba Nation runs one at Catawba Two Kings Casino in Kings Mountain. The 2023 law also lets operators open betting lounges at or near pro team venues, motorsports tracks and courses that host pro golf tournaments (G.S. 18C-926). We haven't found one open.

College games are on the board, including college player props. HB 828, a 2025 bill to ban prop bets on college and amateur athletes, has sat in House Rules since April 9, 2025. The statute doesn't allow bets on youth sports or on injuries, penalties, disciplinary proceedings and replay reviews. Each license costs $1 million.

How North Carolina legalized sports betting

Before 2018: the lottery and the Cherokee compact

G.S. 14-292, which dates to 1891, makes betting on a game of chance a Class 2 misdemeanor unless Chapter 18C or another listed exception allows it. The state didn't have a lottery until Gov. Mike Easley signed the State Lottery Act on August 31, 2005, after Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue broke a 24 to 24 Senate tie. Tickets went on sale March 30, 2006.

The state and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians signed a gaming compact in 1994, 11 years before the lottery law, and Harrah's Cherokee opened November 13, 1997 with only video poker. Amendments to that compact raised the casino age from 18 to 21 starting January 1, 2001. Live dealers came after the U.S. Department of the Interior approved another amended compact in August 2012.

2019: sports betting on tribal land

A year after Murphy v. NCAA (May 14, 2018) struck down the federal ban, Senate Bill 154 added sports and horse race wagering to the gaming tribes could offer on their land. It cleared second readings 43 to 7 in the Senate and 90 to 27 in the House, and Gov. Roy Cooper signed it on July 26, 2019 as Session Law 2019-163. The Eastern Band's second amended and restated compact took effect March 2, 2021, and its two casinos opened sportsbooks called The Book on March 18, 2021.

The Catawba Nation got its own compact, signed by Cooper in January 2021 and effective March 25, 2021. Its temporary Two Kings casino opened July 1, 2021 on land Interior took into trust on March 12, 2020, and its sportsbook, with 30 kiosks and teller windows, opened in September 2022.

2021 to 2023: the statewide bills

Senate Bill 688, the first statewide mobile bill, passed the Senate 26 to 19 on August 19, 2021 but failed its second House reading 49 to 52 on June 22, 2022. HB 347 was filed March 13, 2023, passed the House 64 to 45 on March 29 and the Senate 37 to 11 on June 1. The House concurred 69 to 44 on June 7, and Cooper signed it at Charlotte's Spectrum Center on June 14. The law created Article 9 of Chapter 18C for sports wagering and Article 10 for pari-mutuel horse racing wagering, and set an 18% tax on gross wagering revenue. It defines that revenue as bets received less winnings paid, and promotional credits aren't deducted.

2024 launch and later changes

On February 29, 2024 the Commission licensed seven operators plus the Eastern Band's enterprise, and none for in-person wagering. Caesars started taking mobile bets on Eastern Band land March 1, and statewide apps opened March 11.

Senate Bill 257, the Senate's budget, passed that chamber on April 17, 2025 with the rate doubled to 36%. The House passed its own version on May 22, the Senate wouldn't concur on June 3, and the bill didn't come out of conference for a year. The final version, signed by Gov. Josh Stein on July 7, 2026 as Session Law 2026-41, settled on 23%. Section 44.7 applies the new rate to gross wagering revenue received from that date and rewrites how the money flows to state universities' athletic departments. Section 39.6 tied the tribal sports wagering definition to G.S. 18C-901.

Sports betting court cases in North Carolina

We found no court challenge to HB 347, the 2019 tribal law or the 2026 tax changes. The cases below involve the tribal casinos, a disputed payout and the federal fight over prediction markets.

Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians v. U.S. Department of the Interior

The Eastern Band sued in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on March 17, 2020 (No. 1:20-cv-00757) to undo Interior's decision to take the Catawba Nation's 16-acre Kings Mountain site into trust. The Cherokee Nation joined as a plaintiff-intervenor, the Catawba intervened on the government's side, and the court didn't grant a preliminary injunction in 2020. On April 16, 2021 Judge James Boasberg granted summary judgment to the government, finding the tribes either lacked standing or lost on the merits of each claim. Both tribes appealed to the D.C. Circuit (Nos. 21-5114 and 21-5126, consolidated). Congress then ratified the trust acquisition in the Catawba Indian Nation Lands Act, part of the defense authorization bill President Biden signed on December 27, 2021. The tribes stipulated to dismiss their appeals on January 4, 2022, and the court closed the case the next day.

Kromah v. Harrah's NC Casino Company

Emmanuel Kromah bet $143,000 at Harrah's Cherokee in February 2024 that the Boston Celtics would win the NBA title. When he came to collect $500,500 on June 30, 2024, staff had him escorted out. The casino paid him on July 10, 2024, then banned him from Caesars properties. He and his company, FortManny Consulting, sued on June 30, 2025 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina (No. 1:25-cv-00198), alleging defamation, interference with contracts and unfair trade practices. The Sequoyah Fund was dropped as a defendant on August 12, 2025, and Harrah's NC Casino Company and CEOC, LLC answered on October 17, 2025. A jury trial is set for February 1, 2027 before Judge Max O. Cogburn Jr., and Kromah's lawyer moved to withdraw on September 25, 2026.

KalshiEX LLC v. Martin (Fourth Circuit)

We found no North Carolina court ruling on sports event contracts. Our search of the state's federal district court dockets wasn't complete, so we can't confirm there are none. The prediction market appeal that binds the state is in the Fourth Circuit. Kalshi sued Maryland's gaming regulators in federal court in Maryland (No. 1:25-cv-01283), and the court denied it a preliminary injunction on August 1, 2025. The appeal (No. 25-1892) was docketed August 6, 2025 and argued May 7, 2026. There's no decision as of September 27, 2026. On September 25, Kalshi filed a notice about a forthcoming CFTC regulation.

North Carolina joined the states backing Maryland. Attorney General Jeff Jackson signed the 38-state and D.C. amicus brief filed in the Fourth Circuit on December 22, 2025, the 39-state brief filed in the Ninth Circuit on March 10, 2026 and the multistate brief in Massachusetts v. KalshiEX LLC (No. SJC-13906) in April 2026.

Elsewhere, the Third Circuit held 2 to 1 for Kalshi against New Jersey in KalshiEX LLC v. Flaherty (No. 25-1922) on April 6, 2026, and the Ninth Circuit went the other way against Nevada in KalshiEX, LLC v. Assad (No. 25-7516) on August 28, 2026. New Jersey's petition for certiorari is Supreme Court No. 26-299, and the response is due November 9, 2026.

Prediction markets and daily fantasy

The Washington Examiner called North Carolina the first state to formally recognize federal authority over prediction markets. Section 44.9 of Session Law 2026-41 adds Article 2F to Chapter 105. It says a prediction market registered with the CFTC may operate in the state lawfully under the Commodity Exchange Act, and it taxes each operator 6% of net trading fee revenue from North Carolina residents, filed annually. Article 2F takes effect January 1, 2027 and adds no license or other state requirement. HB 1171, filed April 30, 2026 to ban gambling on prediction markets, went to House Rules on May 4 and hasn't moved.

We found no North Carolina cease-and-desist letter or lawsuit against Kalshi, Polymarket, Crypto.com, Robinhood, Underdog or Novig. CBS Sports lists Kalshi and Polymarket sports markets as live in the state. Novig, run by Ludlow Exchange, LLC, which the CFTC designated a contract market on June 16, 2026, also takes North Carolina users who are 21 with ID and builds no vig into its prices; its eligibility page excludes only Nevada, Arizona and Michigan.

Daily fantasy isn't regulated. G.S. 18C-902(e) says the sports wagering article doesn't apply to skill-based fantasy contests, and the state sets no license or minimum age for them.

Help with a gambling problem

NC Problem Gambling Program (More Than A Game NC): call 877-718-5543, text morethanagamenc to 53342 or chat at morethanagamenc.com.

Sources

Common questions

How we track and verify state laws

What does Legal Sportsbooks US track?

Every state's legal status, the date betting became legal, the minimum age, the regulator and the licensed apps, plus the legal history and court cases behind them, for all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Our page on how we track and verify state laws explains the details.

What do the statuses mean?

Online and retail means licensed mobile apps and in-person sportsbooks both operate. Online only means betting happens through licensed apps, with no retail sportsbooks. Retail only means you can bet in person at licensed venues, but there's no statewide app. Not legal means no licensed sportsbooks operate. Legislation pending means a bill or ballot measure is moving, but betting hasn't launched. Not yet verified means we haven't confirmed the state's current status.

Can I bet on sports where I live?

The rules follow where you are when you place the bet. Licensed apps use geolocation to confirm you're inside a state where they can operate, and some states limit betting to certain premises. Find your state in the state index, or read our guide to location rules.

How old do you have to be to bet on sports?

It's 21 in 33 of the 40 jurisdictions with legal sports betting and 18 in five: Washington, D.C., Montana, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Wyoming. In North Dakota and Washington, the tribal casino sets the age.

How current is the tracker?

State laws and licenses change, so every state entry records the date it was last verified. If a status looks out of date, the state regulator's website has the official answer.

Is this legal advice?

No. We summarize public information about state sports betting laws. Confirm the rules with your state regulator before you bet, and don't wager more than you can afford to lose.