{"data":{"id":"us-nc/n.c.-gen.-stat.-18c-904","jurisdiction":"us-nc","citation":"N.C. Gen. Stat. § 18C-904","heading":"Interactive sports wagering license.","body":"(a)\tIt 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:\n(1)\tProfessional sports.\n(2)\tCollege sports.\n(3)\tElectronic sports.\n(4)\tAmateur sports.\n(5)\tAny other event approved by the Commission in accordance with this Article.\n(b)\tThe 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.\n(c)\tThe application shall set forth all of the following:\n(1)\tThe proposed initial business plan, including all of the following:\na.\tThe range of contemplated types and modes of sports wagering.\nb.\tThe name and address of the registered agent in this State of all parties to the written designation agreement.\nc.\tThe name, address, and other contact information of the person listed as the authorized representative in the written designation agreement.\n(2)\tThe proposed measures to address age and identity verification and geolocation requirements.\n(3)\tThe proposed internal controls that will prevent ineligible persons from participating in sports wagering.\n(4)\tA documented history of working to prevent compulsive gambling, including training programs for its employees.\n(5)\tA written information security program detailing information security governance and the designation of a chief security officer or equivalent.\n(6)\tThe proposed sports wagering brand that the applicant plans to hold out to the public displaying its sports wagering platform.\n(7)\tAny personal information the Commission may deem necessary concerning the applicant's key persons.\n(8)\tA documented history of economic investment in this State, including all of the following:\na.\tJob creation in this State and a plan for continued job creation in this State.\nb.\tCommitment to improve or maintain buildings or infrastructure to further the tourism and entertainment industries in this State.\nc.\tSupport of nonprofit and educational organizations in this State.\nd.\tWillingness to partner with State and local governments to achieve common goals of improving quality of life in this State through economic development.\n(9)\tA documented history of capital investment in this State and a plan for continued capital investment in this State.\n(10)\tA copy of the written designation agreement.\n(11)\tAny other information the Commission may deem necessary.\n(d)\tInformation 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:\n(1)\tTo provide additional insight regarding applicants who intend to operate a place of public accommodation.\n(2)\tTo evaluate an applicant's potential to maximize revenue to this State.\n(e)\tThe 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.\n(f)\tAn 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.\n(g)\tRepealed by Session Laws 2023-134, s. 11.18(d), effective January 8, 2024.\n(h)\tA 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.\n(i)\tThe 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.\n(j)\tNotwithstanding 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:\n(1)\tThe name, address, and sports wagering platform.\n(2)\tThe names of all key persons.\n(3)\tThe documented history of working to prevent compulsive gambling, including training programs for its employees.\n(4)\tThe proposed sports wagering brand that the applicant plans to hold out to the public displaying its sports wagering platform.\n(5)\tThe granting or denial of the application.\n(k)\tEach interactive sports wagering operator shall promptly report all of the following to the Commission:\n(1)\tAll criminal or disciplinary proceedings commenced against that interactive sports wagering operator in connection with its operations.\n(2)\tAll changes in key persons. All new key persons shall consent to a background investigation.\n(3)\tAny breach, discontinuance, or other cessation of the written designation agreement.\n(l)\tNo 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.\n(m)\tInteractive 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(n)\tThe 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.\n(o)\tIf 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).)","path":["Chapter 18C. North Carolina State Lottery.","Article 9. Sports Wagering."],"source_url":"https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_18C/GS_18C-904.html","current_through":"S.L. 2026-30","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-08-27T17:57:52Z","sha256":"3b670e6a3a46f4ae85ecd960b52bdc21eb50666fc86cd52efe7bd24453eae779","source_id":"us-nc","stale":false,"prev":"us-nc/n.c.-gen.-stat.-18c-903","next":"us-nc/n.c.-gen.-stat.-18c-905"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}