North Carolina Legalizes Sports Betting, Creating An Opportunity For Industry Trailblazers Like Gambling.com Group (NASDAQ: GAMB)

On June 7th, 2023, legislators in North Carolina passed House Bill 347, allowing adults to bet on professional, college and Olympic-style sports, together with some in-person betting. HB 347 requires the North Carolina state lottery to publish online sports betting regulations by January 8th, 2024, and authorize local sports betting operators to start accepting wagers by June 7, 2024.

As the ninth-largest state with 11 million adults, North Carolina offers a wide target market for gambling operators. It’s now one of 30 states that have legalized sports betting operations, a move expected to generate over $100 million of tax revenue per year within five years of launch. Additionally, according to a recent survey conducted by BetCarolina.com, nearly 16% of North Carolina adults already bet on sports and 31% said they are either “very likely” or “likely” to place a bet when the state launches sports betting statewide. A quarter of those surveyed said they would bet at least monthly and nearly half said they would bet at least once a year.

The North Carolina market appears primed for gambling operators to meet this demand. For Gambling.com Group GAMB, a trusted publisher of online gambling news, reviews and comparison websites, the legalization of sports betting in North Carolina represents a historic milestone. Gambling.com Group’s story began in North Carolina at UNC Chapel Hill where old friends Charles Gillespie and Kevin McCrystle co-founded the business that would become Gambling.com Group in 2006. Both Charlotte natives, Gillespie and McCrystle left North Carolina to build their business overseas due to the lack of legal, regulated gambling in the United States.

Fast forward to 2022, when North America became Gambling.com Group’s largest reporting segment. North American revenue grew from $2.0 million in 2019 (the first full year after the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act was overturned, lifting a federal ban on sports betting), to $35.9 million in 2022, a testament to Gambling.com Group’s unique business model, technology stack and successful track record in Europe and other markets. Today, the Group operates from its North American headquarters in Charlotte, which the Charlotte Business Journal described as one of the “Best Places to Work” in 2022. Both Gillespie and McCrystle still hold leading roles as Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer, respectively. 

Gambling.com Group stands ready to apply its proven formula in North Carolina to help residents and visitors identify, assess and access the online sportsbooks that will be regulated by the NC Lottery. The Group helps licensed online gambling operators acquire players through its portfolio of websites, including Gambling.com, Bookies.com, RotoWire.com and state-specific websites like BetCarolina.com. Gambling.com Group launched BetCarolina.com in March 2022 to help local sports bettors find up-to-date information on NC-specific sports betting topics such as legislative updates, breaking news about the push for regulation and betting coverage of local teams – including through the Charlotte Observer, Raleigh News & Observer and the Durham Herald-Sun via the Group’s media partnership with The McClatchy Company.

Sports betting legislation has come a long way since Gambling.com Group’s founding. Whereas before the founders had to migrate to the United Kingdom and Ireland to find a regulatory-friendly area to market their services, America has now become their primary target market. If North Carolina is any indicator, it seems possible that key states such as California and Texas could follow suit in the future. 

Learn more about Gambling.com Group here.

Featured photo courtesy of Gambling.com Group.

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