(a)It shall be unlawful for any person to offer or accept sports wagers on sporting events in this State without a valid interactive sports wagering license. Except as provided in G.S. 18C-928, the Commission shall only license interactive sports wagering operators who have a written designation agreement in accordance with G.S. 18C-905 to offer and accept sports wagers on sporting events, which shall include any of the following:
(5)Any other event approved by the Commission in accordance with this Article.
(b)The Commission shall review and issue interactive sports wagering licenses to qualified applicants. The applicant shall complete and submit an application on a form prescribed by the Commissio
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(a) It shall be unlawful for any person to offer or accept sports wagers on sporting events in this State without a valid interactive sports wagering license. Except as provided in G.S. 18C-928, the Commission shall only license interactive sports wagering operators who have a written designation agreement in accordance with G.S. 18C-905 to offer and accept sports wagers on sporting events, which shall include any of the following:
(1) Professional sports.
(2) College sports.
(3) Electronic sports.
(4) Amateur sports.
(5) Any other event approved by the Commission in accordance with this Article.
(b) The Commission shall review and issue interactive sports wagering licenses to qualified applicants. The applicant shall complete and submit an application on a form prescribed by the Commission and a licensing fee of one million dollars ($1,000,000). If the application is denied, the licensing fee shall be refunded, minus five percent (5%) of the licensing fee which shall be used by the Commission to offset associated expenses in reviewing the application.
(c) The application shall set forth all of the following:
(1) The proposed initial business plan, including all of the following:
a. The range of contemplated types and modes of sports wagering.
b. The name and address of the registered agent in this State of all parties to the written designation agreement.
c. The name, address, and other contact information of the person listed as the authorized representative in the written designation agreement.
(2) The proposed measures to address age and identity verification and geolocation requirements.
(3) The proposed internal controls that will prevent ineligible persons from participating in sports wagering.
(4) A documented history of working to prevent compulsive gambling, including training programs for its employees.
(5) A written information security program detailing information security governance and the designation of a chief security officer or equivalent.
(6) The proposed sports wagering brand that the applicant plans to hold out to the public displaying its sports wagering platform.
(7) Any personal information the Commission may deem necessary concerning the applicant's key persons.
(8) A documented history of economic investment in this State, including all of the following:
a. Job creation in this State and a plan for continued job creation in this State.
b. Commitment to improve or maintain buildings or infrastructure to further the tourism and entertainment industries in this State.
c. Support of nonprofit and educational organizations in this State.
d. Willingness to partner with State and local governments to achieve common goals of improving quality of life in this State through economic development.
(9) A documented history of capital investment in this State and a plan for continued capital investment in this State.
(10) A copy of the written designation agreement.
(11) Any other information the Commission may deem necessary.
(d) Information provided to the Commission under subdivisions (8) through (10) of subsection (c) of this section are informational in nature and may be used for any of the following purposes by the Commission:
(1) To provide additional insight regarding applicants who intend to operate a place of public accommodation.
(2) To evaluate an applicant's potential to maximize revenue to this State.
(e) The Commission shall conduct a background investigation on the applicant and key persons as deemed necessary by the Commission. The background investigation shall include a credit history check, a tax record check, and a criminal history record check. In the event an applicant and its key persons have had a completed criminal history record check in the 12 months prior to the application, the Commission may, in its discretion, accept the results of that prior criminal history record check upon submission of an affidavit that there has been no change in criminal history since the prior criminal history record check in this or any other state. The Commission shall not award a license if an applicant or any key person of the applicant has been convicted of a felony or any gambling offense in any state or federal court of the United States within 10 years of application or renewal.
(f) An applicant for licensure and any key person deemed necessary by the Commission shall consent to a criminal history record check and shall submit all necessary fingerprints. Refusal to consent to a criminal history record check may constitute grounds for the Commission to deny licensure.
(g) Repealed by Session Laws 2023-134, s. 11.18(d), effective January 8, 2024.
(h) A person holding a license to conduct sports wagering, on the basis of comparable licensing requirements issued to that person by a proper authority in another state or territory of the United States or the District of Columbia if that jurisdiction's requirements for licensure, certification, or registration are substantially equivalent to or exceed the requirements of this State, and who, in the opinion of the Commission otherwise meets the requirements of this Article based upon verified evidence may, upon application, be licensed as an interactive sports wagering operator with or without further examination, as determined by the Commission. The Commission may also accept another jurisdiction's or approved third party's testing of the interactive sports wagering platform as evidence that the sports wagering platform meets any requirements mandated by the Commission.
(i) The Commission shall review and issue interactive sports wagering licenses to qualified applicants within 60 days of receipt of a completed application. The Commission may extend the review period for an additional 30 days if the background investigation is outstanding. Any denial shall be in writing and state the grounds therefor.
(j) Notwithstanding Chapter 132 of the General Statutes or any other provision of law, except for G.S. 18C-916(b), only the following documents under this section shall be a public record, with respect to each applicant and each interactive sports wagering operator:
(1) The name, address, and sports wagering platform.
(2) The names of all key persons.
(3) The documented history of working to prevent compulsive gambling, including training programs for its employees.
(4) The proposed sports wagering brand that the applicant plans to hold out to the public displaying its sports wagering platform.
(5) The granting or denial of the application.
(k) Each interactive sports wagering operator shall promptly report all of the following to the Commission:
(1) All criminal or disciplinary proceedings commenced against that interactive sports wagering operator in connection with its operations.
(2) All changes in key persons. All new key persons shall consent to a background investigation.
(3) Any breach, discontinuance, or other cessation of the written designation agreement.
(l) No interactive sports wagering operator license is assignable or transferable without approval of the Commission and payment of the licensing fee in accordance with this section.
(m) Interactive sports wagering operators shall assure the financial integrity of sports wagering operations by the maintenance of a reserve of not less than five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) or the amount required to cover the outstanding liabilities for sports wagers accepted by the interactive sports wagering operator, whichever is greater. The reserve may take the form of a bond, an irrevocable letter of credit, payment processor reserves and receivables, cash or cash equivalents segregated from operational funds, guaranty letter, a combination thereof, or any other means as approved by the Commission. Such reserve shall be adequate to pay winning sports wagers when due. An interactive sports wagering operator is presumed to have met this requirement if the operator maintains, on a daily basis, a minimum reserve in an amount which is at least equal to the average daily minimum reserve, calculated on a monthly basis, for the corresponding month in the previous year. For purposes of this subsection, "outstanding liabilities for sports wagers accepted by an interactive sports wagering operator" shall mean the amounts accepted by the interactive sports wagering operator on sports wagers whose outcomes have not been determined and amounts owed but unpaid on winning sports wagers.
(n) The holder of an interactive sports wagering operator license shall be deemed to also hold a service provider license and sports wagering supplier license under this Article for services, goods, software, or components provided in-house.
(o) If an applicant for an interactive sports wagering license is a sports facility or team that is a member of a league, association, or organization that prevents the sports facility or team from being subject to the regulatory control of the Commission or from otherwise operating under an interactive sports wagering license, the sports facility or team may contractually appoint a designee approved by the Commission for all aspects of Commission oversight and operation. (2023-42, s. 1; 2023-134, s. 11.18(d).)