The North Carolina Education Lottery votes to allow instant digital games

The North Carolina Education Lottery Commission recently voted to allow the launch of digital instant games to online players later this fall, according to a local news report from WRAL News. The commission gave the green light for these games to be available by November 15.

The state recently legalized online sports betting, which is scheduled to go live in January. Once North Carolina’s regulated sports betting market is in place, the Lottery Commission will be permitted to award up to 12 licenses to operators statewide. Players would then have access to online and mobile betting, as well as in-person wagering.

The commission has categorized digital instant games in the same vein as digital scratch-off tickets.

Commissioner Chris Hayes shared his thoughts with WRAL on what the future holds for the state and voiced that the timing for this release should be reconsidered.

He commented, “We, as the commission, do not know what the landscape of gaming is going to be in North Carolina over the next year.

“There’s still a lot of proposals out there in the General Assembly. We could have more responsibility. We don’t know what the total handle is. We don’t know how many gamblers there are. Introducing new games now with an uneven landscape, I don’t think is the right move. I think we need to get a better understanding of what types of games are going to be authorized in North Carolina before we move forward.”

Since the Supreme Court repealed PASPA in 2018, online gambling is currently available in more than 30 states, with 18 of those allowing for legal online sports wagering.

Elena Rodriguez

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