Sports betting in North Carolina has finally launched on Monday, March 11th, and America’s most popular sportsbook, FanDuel, has partnered with the NFL’s Carolina Panthers when the state opens for business.
Launch Party
The sports betting ship sailed on Monday in North Carolina and FanDuel will be cruising the information superhighway with the Carolina Panthers as their mobile betting partner. The financials are unknown, but FanDuel will have access to the Panthers’ marketing channels including digital signage at Bank of America Stadium as well as a presence on the team’s social media platforms.
Mike Raffensperger, Chief Commercial Officer at FanDuel, said: “Bringing FanDuel to sports fans across North Carolina is an important moment for our business, and we are thrilled to be able to work with the Carolina Panthers to introduce their fanbase to America’s #1 Sportsbook.”
“We look forward to supporting the team next season and to engaging the passionate sports fans across North Carolina with our product,” he added.
Kristi Coleman, Carolina Panthers President, stated: “We are thrilled to welcome FanDuel as an Official Sports Betting Partner. As we look ahead to the 2024 season, we’re excited about the opportunities this partnership presents to deliver unique and engaging experiences to our fans while they are in North Carolina.”
Still Growing
North Carolina is the 22nd US state in which FanDuel operates its mobile sports betting app, with the others being Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming.
Early Signup Window
The eight mobile sports betting operators were allowed to take early signups starting on March 1st, which allowed a more seamless transition when the launch went live at noon on Monday. Many of the mobile operators are enticing customers with subscription bonuses and other promotional attractions.
Todd McFall, a sports economist at Wake Forest University, said the 10-day window for early subscribers would be a boon to all the operators in the market.
“These initial visits will be habit-forming, and the more bettors an operator can attract initially, the better they’ll be in the near term,” McFall said. “Attracting bettors means competing with other houses.
“The operators will have to be savvy when it comes to offering incentives or odds that might put the company in a risky position initially, but will pay off later because bettors are still visiting their online or physical sites.”
There are seven other mobile betting operators in North Carolina in addition to FanDuel, and they are listed below along with their in-state partners.
- Bet365 – Bet365 signed a deal with the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets.
- BetMGM – BetMGM has partnered with Charlotte Motor Speedway.
- DraftKings – DraftKings has a deal with NASCAR.
- ESPN Bet – ESPN Bet has access to NC sports betting through an agreement with Quail Hollow Club and the PGA’s Wells Fargo Championship.
- Fanatics – Fanatics has applied to join the NC market through a deal with the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes.
- FanDuel – FanDuel has deals with the PGA Tour and the Carolina Panthers.
- Underdog Sports – Underdog has a deal with McConnell Golf, the parent company of Sedgefield Country Club.
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