North Carolina and Vermont, Welcome to the Sports Betting Party!
Sports betting news and information for bettors by bettors ...
Happy days are ahead for sports bettors in North Carolina and Vermont!
Gov. Roy Cooper signed North Carolina's mobile sports betting bill into law Wednesday morning at Spectrum Center in Charlotte. Vermont Gov. Phil Scott followed suit by enacting his state’s sports betting legislation.
Bettors in the Tar Heel State have already been able to place bets in person at three retail sportsbooks in the state. Mobile betting is just so much easier.
Congratulations to both states. May your launch dates come sooner rather than later!
Anyway, we have quite a few things to discuss this week. So, let's get right to it. It's time to talk about the week in sports betting!
Party Time!
Getting a bill passed and signed into law are crucial steps in a state's sports betting journey, but many more are still to come.
According to one of the amendments in the North Carolina bill, mobile sports betting will launch within 12 months of Gov. Cooper’s signature. In Vermont, the legislation calls for the go-live date to be no later than Jan. 1, 2024.
Gaming Today’s Kris Johnson was on the scene in Charlotte for Cooper’s signature.
“This is a historic moment for the state of North Carolina,” Cooper said at the Spectrum Center, home of the Hornets and one of the eight sports facilities designated for licensees. “This will benefit our economy for generations to come.”
Operators will be charged a tax rate of 18%, and tax proceeds, per Adam Carter, are “assigned to support gambling addiction education and treatment programs, local governments, or nonprofit organizations dedicated to amateur and youth sports, and athletic departments across the state's universities, as well as provide grants to draw entertainment, musical, political, sporting, or theatrical events to the state's venues.”
As for Vermont, Department of Liquor and Lottery commissioner Wendy Knight told Gaming Today back in April that the plan is to keep the market competitive but small. Under the bill, the state will have two to six mobile sportsbook operators following a competitive bidding process.
From Rebecca Hanchett's report:
Most of all, Knight said, Vermont will have a safe, regulated sports betting market she hopes will keep bettors in-state instead of losing them to neighboring New Hampshire and Massachusetts – or illegal offshore sites.
US Open
With the PGA Tour and LIV joining forces last week, pro golf has been at the forefront of the sports conversation. Not that the US Open needs any help attracting attention, but the PGA Tour-LIV fallout puts a bigger spotlight on the third major of the season, which tees off early Thursday morning at Los Angeles Country Club.
But how should you bet it?
If you are looking for a bit of help deciding which markets and/or golfers to focus on, our US Open content can help.
Are you curious about how the sharps are betting the tournament? Then you'll want to check out our US Open Betting Report, as Kris Johnson picks the brain of the SuperBook’s Jeff Sherman, one of the sports betting industry’s top golf oddsmakers.
Looking to pick someone to win the whole thing? Check out:
US Open Best Bets & Predictions: Favorite, Value Pick & Longshot
US Open Expert Picks: Bet This Trio of Players to Win Third Major
Are you a fan of prop bets (love them!)? Bill Bowman has you covered:
Or, if you’re an instant gratification sort of better, here’s D.J. Corrigan on Thursday’s opening round:
Elsewhere in the Wide World of Sports Betting…
With the conclusion of the NHL and NBA seasons, bettors can focus on other sports. But, if they want, they can always get a head start betting on the winner of the Stanley Cup and NBA Finals for next season:
2024 NBA Championship Odds: Nuggets Open as Favorites to Defend Title
2024 NHL Odds: Avalanche Open as Favorite to Hoist Stanley Cup Next Season
Baseball bettors can find the latest World Series odds on our dedicated page and the betting lines for upcoming games on our MLB odds page.
DJ is also posting daily MLB home run props to our website (he’s been en fuego, by the way). If that interests you, check the website to see our latest coverage.
There is also the College World Series. Wake Forest looks incredible, but No. 1 national seeds do not win the CWS. The only one to do so was Miami in 1999. The odds favor the Demon Deacons in their opening game against Stanford on Saturday.
I'll have my USFL Week 10 odds post ready either Thursday or Friday at the latest.
This Week on the Sports Betting Legal/Business Landscape…
In addition to the news from North Carolina and Vermont, here's more industry happenings:
Pro sports leagues like the NHL may have been reluctant/slow to embrace sports betting initially, but once they did it, it’s been full speed ahead. Brant James wrote about the growth in sports betting sponsorship revenue for the NHL:
According to a report released this week by SponsorUnited, titled "NHL Marketing Partnerships Report 2022-2023", NHL sports betting and daily fantasy team sponsorships spiked 185% in the 2022-23 NHL season. The category has now jumped into the top 10 NHL sponsor categories.
In other news, a historic former Massachusetts greyhound racetrack is a step closer to receiving state approval to open a Caesars retail sportsbook, as Rebecca reported.
Sportsbook Promotions: June 14, 2023
The following promotions could come in handy this weekend:
BetRivers: US Open Championship Top 10 Insurance! Place a real money, outright winner, Pre-Tournament wager on the US Open Championship and receive your bet back up to $25 if your golfer finishes in the Top 10!
FanDuel: Major Winner Insurance. Place a Pre-Tournament, Straight, Winner Wager on the US Open, and if your bet loses, but your golfer finishes Top-20, get a refund in bonus bets
DraftKings: Place a bet of $5+ and get $200 in Bonus Bets instantly!
Caesars: US Open Championship Insurance: Opt-In and place a pre-tournament wager on the Tournament Winner Market for the US Open Championship between June 10, 2023, and June 14, 2023, to get a Bonus Bet equal to 200% of stake up to $100 if your selected golfer loses but finishes in the Top 5.
Terms and conditions apply. Check out our promo page for the best sign-up offers sportsbook apps have to offer.
That's it for this edition of the Gaming Today Playbook. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much or more as I enjoyed writing it. If you have any questions or want to request a topic to get covered in a future newsletter, you can reach me via email at travis.pulver@catenamedia.com or via Twitter at @FatManWriting.
Until next week…bet wisely, my friends.
Travis Pulver, Sports Betting Writer