The North Carolina Lottery Commission’s sports betting committee met for about 30 minutes Tuesday, moving forward with a second set of proposed rules.
The first set of rules, which had its public comment period recently concluded, covered mostly sports wagering basics. The second set included more details, such as information on marketing guidelines when mobile sportsbooks go live in the state. The proposed rules came in the form of a 256-page document.
“I did want to thank the folks on staff for putting together all this in a very quick, obviously, and thoughtful way,” Lottery Commission Chairman Ripley Rand said at Tuesday’s meeting. “I don’t think anybody on this committee or the commission itself signed up to be reading hundreds and thousands of pages of proposed rules, but the staff has made this process go probably as easily as it can go up to this point.”
A timeline for the launch of sports betting apps was not discussed Tuesday. Legislation requires the state’s mobile wagering market to be up and running by mid-June of 2024.
Noteworthy proposals
Proposed marketing guidelines include language that prohibits operators from using “free” or “risk free” wording when describing marketing promotions that aren’t truly without risk. This follows a trend across the industry of operators moving away from such phrasing.
Additional proposed rules include language related to colleges and universities. The potential regulations say that marketing materials for legal sports betting platforms cannot be displayed “on any college or university campus, or in college or university news outlets such as school newspapers and college or university radio or television broadcasts.”
The legal age for sports bettors in North Carolina is 21. Avoiding advertising to underage individuals is one of the focal points of the proposed marketing guidelines.
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Other proposed rules include language about signing up for a mobile sports wagering account. Customers will need to provide operators with their full name, date of birth, address, and some sort of government identification, such as the last four digits of their Social Security number.
If a bettor wagers or receives a payout of $10,000 or more at a sports wagering facility in North Carolina, the venue needs to receive multiple identifying pieces of information about the bettor, including name, date of birth, and address.
Next steps
This newly proposed second batch of rules will have an open public comment period from Nov. 7-27. There will be a public hearing for comments on Nov. 20, and the rules will be further discussed by the committee on Dec. 6.
As for the first rulemaking package, that public comment period has concluded. The most notable comments were daily fantasy operators arguing that their pick’em-style games should be allowed in North Carolina.
The sports betting committee will meet on Nov. 14 to discuss public comments and make recommendations. Then, two days later, the lottery commission will consider officially adopting the rules.
