H.B. 347
GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
Mar 13, 2023
SESSION 2023 HOUSE PRINCIPAL CLERK
H D
HOUSE BILL DRH40186-STxf-29
Short Title: Sports Wagering. (Public)
Sponsors: Representative Saine.
Referred to:
1 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
2 AN ACT TO AUTHORIZE AND REGULATE SPORTS WAGERING ON PROFESSIONAL
3 AND COLLEGE SPORTS IN NORTH CAROLINA.
4 The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
5 SECTION 1. Chapter 18C of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new
6 Article to read:
7 "Article 9.
8 "Sports Wagering.
9 "§ 18C-901. Definitions.
10 As used in this Article, the following definitions apply:
11 (1) Amateur sports. – A sporting competition that is not a professional sport,
12 college sport, or youth sport. This term includes domestic, international, and
13 Olympic sporting competitions.
14 (2) Cash equivalent. – An asset convertible to cash for use in connection with
15 authorized sports wagering that includes all of the following:
16 a. Foreign currency and coin.
17 b. Personal checks and drafts.
18 c. Digital, crypto, and virtual currencies.
19 d. Online and mobile payment systems that support online money
20 transfers.
21 e. Credit cards and debit cards.
22 f. A prepaid access instrument.
23 g. Any other form approved by the Commission.
24 (3) College sports. – An athletic or sporting competition in which at least one
25 participant is a team or contestant competing on behalf of or under the
26 sponsorship of a public or private institution of postsecondary education. This
27 term shall not include a public or private institution of postsecondary
28 education sponsorship of professional sports.
29 (4) Covered services. – Any service creating sports wagering markets and
30 determination of sports wager outcomes that involves the operation,
31 management, or control of sports wagers authorized by this Article, including
32 the development or operation of the sports wagering platform and the
33 determination of odds or line information. The term shall not include any of
34 the following:
35 a. Payment processing and similar financial services.
36 b. Customer identity, age verification, and geolocation services.
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1 c. Streaming or other video and data that does not include the
2 determination of odds or line information.
3 d. Telecommunications, internet service providers, and other similar
4 services not specifically designed for sports wagering.
5 e. Other goods or services not specifically designed for use in connection
6 with sports wagering.
7 (5) Electronic sports. – Leagues, competitive circuits, tournaments, or similar
8 competitions where individuals or teams play video games, typically for
9 spectators, either in person or online, for the purpose of prizes, money, or
10 entertainment.
11 (6) Geofencing. – Technology approved by the Commission and utilized by an
12 interactive sports wagering operator to verify a registered player's geolocation
13 prior to the time the registered player is placing a sports wager.
14 (7) Gross wagering revenue. – The total of all cash or cash equivalents received
15 by an interactive sports wagering operator from sports wagers as authorized
16 under this Article.
17 (8) Interactive account. – A mobile account established by a registered player for
18 the purpose of placing sports wagers in accordance with this Article.
19 (9) Interactive sports wagering operator. – The holder of an interactive sports
20 wagering license issued by the Commission.
21 (10) Key person. – An officer or director of an interactive sports wagering operator
22 who is directly involved in the operation, management, or control of sports
23 wagering authorized under this Article, or who exercises substantial influence
24 or control over the interactive sports wagering operator's sports wagering
25 activities.
26 (11) Official league data. – Statistics, results, outcomes, and other data relating to
27 a sporting event obtained pursuant to an agreement with the relevant sports
28 governing body or an entity expressly authorized by the relevant sports
29 governing body to provide such data.
30 (12) Parimutuel wager. – A betting system in which all of the bets of a particular
31 type are placed together in a pool and the sports wager is placed against other
32 bettors placing sports wagers on the same event of horse racing, dog racing,
33 or other sporting events in which the participants finish in a ranked order.
34 (13) Professional sports. – An athletic or sporting competition involving at least
35 two competitors who receive compensation for participating in such event.
36 (14) Registered player. – An individual who has established an account with an
37 interactive sports wagering operator.
38 (15) Service provider. – A business entity that provides covered services to an
39 interactive sports wagering operator and holds a service provider license.
40 (16) Sporting event. – Professional sports, amateur sports, and college sports, all
41 of which may include electronic sports, and any other event approved by the
42 Commission.
43 (17) Sports facility. – Any of the following:
44 a. A motorsports facility that hosts a National Association for Stock Car
45 Auto Racing national touring race and has a minimum seating capacity
46 of 17,000 people.
47 b. A facility that hosts a professional golf tournament with more than
48 50,000 live spectators anticipated to attend based on similar prior
49 tournaments.
50 c. A facility that is the home location of a professional sports team that
51 competes in any of the following professional leagues:
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1 1. Major League Baseball.
2 2. Major League Soccer.
3 3. National Basketball Association.
4 4. National Football League.
5 5. National Hockey League.
6 6. National Women's Soccer League.
7 (18) Sports governing body. – An organization headquartered in the United States
8 that prescribes final rules with respect to a sporting event and enforces the
9 code of conduct for participants therein. In the context of electronic sports, the
10 sports governing body shall be the video game publisher of the title used in
11 the electronic sports competition, regardless of location.
12 (19) Sports wager or sports wagering. – Placing of wagers via an interactive
13 account on any of the following: (i) a sporting event, (ii) a portion of a sporting
14 event, (iii) the individual performance statistics of athletes in a sporting event
15 or combination of sporting events, or (iv) a parimutuel wager. The term also
16 includes single-game wagers, teaser wagers, parlays, over-under, moneyline,
17 pools, exchange wagering, in-game wagering, in-play wagers, proposition
18 wagers, straight wagers, and any other wager approved by the Commission.
19 (20) Sports wagering brand. – The names, logos, and brands that an interactive
20 sports wagering operator advertises, promotes, or otherwise holds out to the
21 public displaying its sports wagering platform.
22 (21) Sports wagering platform. – A website, mobile application, or other
23 interactive platform accessible via the internet, mobile, wireless, or similar
24 communication technology that a registered player may use to place sports
25 wagers authorized under this Article.
26 (22) Sports wagering supplier. – A person that provides services, goods, software,
27 or other components necessary for the creation of sports wagering markets
28 and determination of sports wager outcomes, directly or indirectly, to any
29 interactive sports wagering operator or service provider involved in the
30 acceptance of sports wagers, including any of the following: providers of data
31 feeds and odds services, internet platform providers, risk management
32 providers, integrity monitoring providers, and other providers of sports
33 wagering supplier services as determined by the Commission. The term does
34 not include a sports governing body that provides raw statistical match data to
35 one or more designated and licensed providers of data and odds services.
36 (23) Tier one sports wager. – A sports wager that is determined solely by the final
37 score or final outcome of the sporting event and is placed before the sporting
38 event has begun.
39 (24) Tier two sports wager. – Any sports wager that is not a tier one sports wager.
40 (25) Tribal gaming enterprise. – A federally recognized Indian tribe that is
41 authorized to conduct Class III games in accordance with the federal Indian
42 Gaming Regulatory Act, 25 U.S.C. § 2701 et seq., in this State or a business
43 entity owned or controlled by such tribe. Any federally recognized tribe, or
44 business entity owned or controlled by the tribe, that is deemed an interactive
45 sports wagering operator under this Article shall include authorization for any
46 technology and sports wagering brand partners of the tribe or the business
47 entity owned or controlled by the tribe, subject to compliance with the terms
48 of this Article by the technology and sports wagering brand partners.
49 (26) Youth sports. – An event in which the majority of participants are under the
50 age of 18 or are competing on behalf or under the sponsorship of one or more
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1 public or private preschool, elementary, middle, or secondary schools. The
2 term does not include the following:
3 a. Professional sports.
4 b. Sporting events that occur under the sponsorship or oversight of
5 national or international athletic bodies that are not educational
6 institutions and that include participants both over and under the age
7 of 18.
8 "§ 18C-902. Authorization of sports wagering generally.
9 (a) Notwithstanding any provision of Article 37 of Chapter 14 of the General Statutes,
10 sports wagering, including parimutuel wagering, as authorized by this Article shall not be
11 considered unlawful. All sports wagering authorized under this Article shall be placed via an
12 interactive account as described in G.S. 18C-912 and shall be initiated and received within this
13 State except as provided in G.S. 18C-928. The interactive sports wagering operator shall comply
14 with the following:
15 (1) Ensure that the registered player is located within the State, and not present
16 on Indian lands within the State, when placing any sports wager, utilizing
17 geofencing.
18 (2) Monitor and block unauthorized attempts to place sports wagers.
19 (b) This Article does not apply to interactive sports wagering conducted exclusively on
20 Indian lands by an Indian tribe operating in accordance with a Tribal-State gaming compact and
21 authorized to conduct Class III gaming pursuant to a compact with the State. For purposes of this
22 Article, sports wagering is conducted exclusively on Indian lands only if the individual who
23 places the sports wager is physically present on Indian lands when the sports wager is initiated
24 and received on equipment that is physically located on Indian lands consistent with federal law
25 and the sports wager is initiated and received in conformity with the safe harbor requirements as
26 provided in 31 U.S.C. § 5362(10)(c).
27 (c) An interactive sports wagering operator licensed under G.S. 18C-904 shall not accept
28 any wager if the registered player placing the wager is physically present on Indian lands when
29 the sports wager is initiated and received. Each interactive sports wagering operator licensed
30 under G.S. 18C-904 shall use geofencing approved by the Commission to ensure compliance
31 with this Article.
32 (d) Nothing in this Article shall authorize any of the following:
33 (1) Sports wagering involving youth sports.
34 (2) Sports wagering on the occurrence of any of the following:
35 a. Injuries.
36 b. Penalties.
37 c. The outcome of disciplinary proceedings against a participant in a
38 sporting event.
39 d. The outcome of replay reviews.
40 (3) The Commission serving as an operator of a sports wagering platform.
41 (e) Nothing in this Article shall apply to fantasy or simulated games or contests in which
42 more than one fantasy contest player competes against each other and winning outcomes reflect
43 the relative knowledge and skill of the fantasy contest players and are determined predominantly
44 by accumulated statistical results of the performance of individuals, including athletes in the case
45 of sporting events.
46 (f) Upon request and with reasonable notice, the Commission or the Department of
47 Revenue has the authority to audit any interactive sports wagering operator or its service
48 providers as related to sports wagering activities authorized under this Article.
49 (g) Any sports governing body on whose sporting events sports wagering is authorized
50 by this Article may enter into commercial agreements with interactive sports wagering operators
51 or other entities in which the sports governing body may share in the amount bet from sports
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1 wagering on sporting events of the sports governing body. A sports governing body is not
2 required to obtain a license or any other approval from the Commission to lawfully accept such
3 amounts.
4 (h) Nothing in this Chapter shall authorize the Commission to establish, require, or
5 enforce a maximum or minimum payout or hold percentage upon any interactive sports wagering
6 operator.
7 "§ 18C-903. Reserved for future codification purposes.
8 "§ 18C-904. Interactive sports wagering license.
9 (a) It shall be unlawful for any person to offer or accept sports wagers in this State without
10 a valid interactive sports wagering license. Except as provided in G.S. 18C-928, the Commission
11 shall authorize at least 10, but not more than 12, interactive sports wagering operators to offer
12 and accept sports wagers to and from registered players on sporting events, which shall include
13 any of the following:
14 (1) Professional sports.
15 (2) College sports.
16 (3) Electronic sports.
17 (4) Amateur sports.
18 (5) Any other event approved by the Commission.
19 (b) The Commission shall review and issue sports wagering licenses to qualified
20 applic