Top Online Casinos for North Carolina

The 28^th-largest state in the U.S. encompasses the southeastern region. It borders Tennessee to the west, Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and South Carolina with Georgia to the south.

One of the original Thirteen Colonies joined the Union in 1789 and, in time, became well-recognizable for several interesting facts.

The Wright Brothers used the remote location of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, to test various flying machine prototypes before achieving their dream in 1903. In return, NC license plates nowadays boast “First in Flight,” causing rankles with Ohio residents, the state where the Wright Brothers lived and worked.

Old North State is the birthplace of Nina Simone, John Coltrane, Billy Taylor, Thelonious Monk, and a host of other jazz legends, including more American Idol finalists than any other state. Asheville is home to the most massive mansion in America, built by George Vanderbilt II, and includes 255 rooms built in French chateau-inspired fashion. While we’re at homes and birthplaces — in 1893, Pepsi was invented in New Bern, Krispy Kreme doughnuts in Winston-Salem in 1937, and no less than three U.S. presidents were born in NC.

The state’s Outer Banks remains an attractive tourist destination to this day but is nicknamed “The Graveyard of Atlantic” due to sandbars and strong currents, which have sent countless ships to the bottom of the ocean. Such a setup was also appealing to infamous pirate Blackbeard, who spent years plundering ships and taking hostages in this area.

The state that is, on average, hit by a hurricane every 3.44 years — explaining why the NHL franchise bears the name of Carolina Hurricanes — is also the 9^th-most populous in America with a diverse economy.

Renowned for the growing of tobacco due to mild climate and fecund soils, Tar Heel State also leads national production of textile, furniture, and sweet potatoes. Compounded by engineering, science, construction, hydroelectric power, manufacturing, transportation, and services industries, the state created a $587.7 billion gross domestic product in 2019, equaling 2.7 percent of the national annual GDP.

Although it would be difficult…

…to mistake North Carolina for a liberal gambling environment, statewide regulative efforts and initiatives have a very long, deep-rooted history.

In 1764, before joining the Union, Old North State enacted a law to limit personal winnings to five shillings a day. Despite it, and well in line with gambling history in America, the games flourished in legitimate and illegitimate carpet joints.

The host of bills followed to counteract deleterious effects, banning public tables (1791), card games in taverns (1799), lotteries (1834), private gaming tables (1835), and slot machines (1939).

The gambling regulations scene remained fairly uneventful and among the least permissive in America until the 1990s, when North Carolina negotiated a compact with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, establishing the first land-based casino. (The second one opened in 2015.)

At the beginning of the century, the legislature approved the state lottery in 2005, paving the way for bingo, licensed raffles, and charitable gambling. Simultaneously, in 2007, the state banned all video gaming terminals that flooded the market in bars and liquor serving venues.

Finally…

…in 2019, North Carolina enacted the law allowing for sportsbetting on professional and collegiate contests within the state-approved land-based casinos — including horse and greyhound racing — with the notable exclusion of off-premises mobile betting.

Not surprisingly, onshore iGaming operators are prohibited, including online sportsbooks, as playing in interactive casinos remain not legal even though some offshore hubs still accept North Carolinians.

As of September 2023, the state intends to expand its land-based market with four new casinos. As suggested, three of the premises should be established in economically deprived areas, plus a fourth venue to be operated by the Lumbee Tribe.

Legal Framework

Three statutory acts govern all gambling activities: North Carolina General Statutes (Article 37), the State Lottery Act from 2005, and Senate Bill 154 (SB154), which regulate sportsbetting.

There are three regulatory bodies in Tar Heel state, considering different areas of legislative impact:

• The Cherokee Tribal Gaming Commission (TGC),
• North Carolina Lottery Commission (NCLC), and
• Alcohol Law Enforcement (ALE) Division within the Department of Public Safety.

When it comes to enforcing the state’s gambling laws, ALE Special Agents spearhead the effort in controlling all implementations regarding illegal slot machines, video poker, and other gaming devices, as the tribal-run casinos remain independently regulated by federal law.

On the other hand…

…SB154 also called upon creating a new regulatory body, North Carolina Gaming Commission, whose authority would be further clarified by an additional bill. This law, targeting mainly the sportsbetting purview of such a commission, still lingers in the state House and Senate.

The legal age for all gambling activities is 21 years.

As of 2020, all lottery surpluses from taxation are funneled toward education funding.

Licensing

Since most state gambling activities — excluding lottery — fall under the umbrella of land-based casinos run by Cherokees, the TGC is in charge of the licensing process.

Furthermore, as each of two brick-and-mortar establishments in North Carolina is subject to state compact agreements, the licenses target only employees and vendors. (In other words, the casino gets the state certificate while the commission issues additional relevant permits.)

Therefore…

…the TGC may issue Primary Management Official License to a person responsible for all or any part of gambling operations. These positions may include persons with authority to hire and fire employees or establish working policies, as well Chief Financial Officer(s), a controlling shareholder of a management contractor, or any other critical employee billet (supervisors, custodians, floor managers, pit bosses, chief of security, and such).

The second kind of permit issued by the TGC is Gaming Vendor License to companies and individuals who manufacture, supply, distribute, repair, or provide products and services to conduct gambling activities.

These licenses may fall into the following categories: Devices, table games, tokens, chips, drop boxes, counting equipment, bill validators, coin comparators, gaming or customer monitoring systems, surveillance equipment, or any other activity deemed by the TGC as warranting a vendor classification.

Depending on gross payments, all vendors are further classified as Major, Minor, or Exempt Vendor.

The TGC is in charge of all audits and checks to ensure licensee compliance with an intricate set of laws and the state regulatory framework, including the crime hotline to protect the gaming public.

Players’ Protection

The relatively slow development of the North Carolina gambling scene correlates to a significant extent with concerns about the adverse effects of legalized gambling. Thus, keeping patrons safe and in line with a responsible approach to games of chance ranks exceptionally high on the list of state priorities.

North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services runs a separate Problem Gambling Program — More Than A Game — providing support for effective prevention, education, outreach, and treatment services, including a free helpline. 

The state lottery contributes $1 million a year to support these services. Moreover, in 2020, it began a new program, Play Smart, focused on lottery-specific responsible gaming and prevention programs.

Last but not least…

…North Carolina is an active participant in nation-wide initiatives such as the National Council on Problem Gaming and Gamblers Anonymous. In fact, even before the state legalized casino operations, several chapters of these organizations were founded locally.

Final Notes

Considering such an approach to gambling in Tar Heel State — a prominent member of the Bible Belt —North Carolinians will probably continue to enjoy the limited, highly controlled, and well-regulated impact of casino games with no significant new developments on the horizon.

Consequentially…

…online punters in pursuit of interactive fun and excitement will most likely remain deprived of onshore operators’ gambling offerings in the foreseeable future.

Having the regulatory framework in mind, we urge you to conduct your due diligence to evaluate offshore iGaming hubs. The state’s legislation background points out to strong consensus toward crack-downs much more than to liberal approach.

That said, if you find yourself in a well-chosen opportunity to indulge in legal gambling activities in North Carolina, we wish you the best of luck! Combined with a proper dose of responsibility, it should be, assumingly, enough to give you healthy fun as you test your skills and budget limitations against chances in games you play.

Further Reading

• US North Carolina Online Casinos