(Happily for this Duke fan, that inaugural bet was a loser.) North Carolina first stuck a toe in the sports gambling pool in March 2021 when Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort accepted a bet on the Tar Heels to beat Wisconsin in the NCAA basketball tournament. Supreme Court decision striking down a federal law that had prevented states from legalizing sporting betting. The trigger for this nationwide gambling expansion was a 2018 U.S. Today you can bet legally in 33 states and the District of Columbia. Just three years ago, sports betting was legal in just three states. Sponsors of the bill promise to revisit the issue in the General Assembly’s next session.] June 2022: A bill to legalize on-line sports gambling in North Carolina failed by a single vote. March 2023: a sports gambling bill was filed in the NC House that would charge license fees of $1 million every five years and a 14% tax on gambling revenues. June 2023: H347 is signed into law by Governor Cooper, authorizing on-line sports gambling to begin within 1 year and levying an 18% tax on gambling revenue.
