In my mind I’m goin’ to Carolina!
Like the song by James Taylor, sports fans can go to North Carolina and legally wager on sports. Governor Roy Cooper signed a bill in 2019 to legalize sports betting at retail locations.
Charlotte is the biggest city in North Carolina with around 900,000 people. It also serves as the host to the three major sports teams in the state, the Charlotte Hornets, Carolina Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes. Like other southern states, NC is a big college sports state. Their national Division 1 brands are North Carolina, Duke, NC State, Wake Forest, Davidson and Appalachian State.
The Tar Heel State is known for the basketball rivalries within the state. Their college basketball teams are in the middle of every conversation about the sport. With legalized gambling, rivals of the teams can finally put their money where their mouth is when talking smack!
Yes, gambling is legal in North Carolina. Governor Roy Cooper signed Senate Bill 154 that legalized sports betting on Native American land. Currently, there is no online gambling in the state or what would be considered “statewide gambling.” However, there has been a push my lawmakers to make this happen. In 2021, a bill to legalize online sports betting passed the Senate, but failed in the House.
Sports betters must travel to the western part of the state to legally gamble in North Carolina. Residents can also travel to neighboring Tennessee and Virginia to legally bet sports as well.