However, representatives killed the bill by a slender margin on June 22, 2022, meaning sports fans would need to wait at least another year for North Carolina betting apps to be legalized. It made its way to the North Carolina House in 2022, and it flew through the first few committees, sparking optimism among advocates of North Carolina betting. The bill aimed to permit between 10 and 12 online sportsbooks to launch in the state. Later that year, another North Carolina sports betting bill, SB 688, passed through the Senate courtesy of a 26-19 vote. Caesars opened the first two retail sportsbooks in May 2021, at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort and Harrah’s Cherokee Valley River. The House then voted 90-27 in favor of it, and Gov. The proposed measure for legal sports betting North Carolina, SB 154, cleared the Senate with a 43-7 vote. North Carolina initially legalized retail sports betting at tribal casinos in 2019.
