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Applicant Frequently Asked Questions

Applicant's Frequently Asked Questions

North Carolina law requires three types of businesses engaged in sports betting to obtain a license from the Commission:

  • Interactive Sports Betting Operators – businesses that offer and accept sports bets on sporting events.
  • Service Providers – businesses that provide covered services to an operator that create sports betting markets and determine sports bet outcomes that involve the operation, management, or control of sports bets. Covered services is further defined by G.S. 18C-901(4).
  • Suppliers – business that provide services, goods, software, or other components necessary for the creation of sports betting markets and determinations of sports bet outcomes to operators or service providers.

You have to fill out a request form. Once the Commission receives the request form, they will send you an application form. You can find the request form for the type of license you would like to get on the How to Apply page.

The application fee for an operator license is $1,000,000, a service provider license is $50,000, and a supplier license is $30,000.

Payment of the application fee will be facilitated by Commission staff after an application has been submitted. In the event an applicant is denied a license, the application fee, minus 5%, will be refunded.

Specific instructions on submitting application forms and attachments to the Commission’s secure ShareBase portal are included in the Commission’s email response to a request for an application.

It is the applicant’s responsibility to maintain and protect the unique link and password to the Commission’s ShareBase portal. In the event they are lost or forgotten, please contact [email protected] as soon as possible.

The Commission will issue a provisional license to any supplier applicant who submits an administratively sufficient application and the required written attestations provided with the application form. The Commission will continue its background investigation and due diligence and issue a final licensing determination within 180 days of issuing the provisional supplier license. Operators and service providers are not eligible for provisional licenses under the law.

Possibly, The NC Sports Wagering Law authorizes the Commission to take into consideration an applicant’s licensure in good standing in other jurisdictions that have substantially equivalent licensing requirements to NC. To be eligible for this consideration, the applicant must submit letters or certificates of good standing from each jurisdiction where they hold a license with their application form. Commission staff will review comparable licensure on a case-by-case basis.

The business entity applying for a license must request a background record check through the Commission’s venders. Additionally, all of the entity’s key persons, as defined in the application form, must request a background record check. It is important to start this process early. You may request a background record check as soon as you request an application form from the Commission.

Yes. An applicant or key person with a criminal background check, conducted within the 12 months prior to submitting the application, may submit the completed report in lieu of requesting a background record check through the Commission’s vender. The completed report must be submitted in the application materials along with a signed Affidavit of Criminal History Record Check. The Commission reserves the right to require an applicant or key person to submit to a background record check with our vender if the prior background record check is insufficient in any way.

The Commission has established a secure ShareBase portal for each applicant to submit their application materials. Once an applicant uploads their application documents, they will be ingested automatically into the Commission’s secure system, and deleted from the ShareBase portal. Generally, application materials are not public record. However, NC law requires the Commission to make the following documents public record:

  • The name, address, and sports betting platform,
  • The names of all key persons,
  • The documented history of working to prevent compulsive gambling, including training programs for employees,
  • The proposed sports betting brand that the applicant plans to hold out to the public displaying its sports betting platform,
  • The granting or denial of the application, and
  • Any documents or materials that form the basis for disciplinary or enforcement action.

No. The Completed application form, necessary attachments, and all key person disclosures must all be uploaded to the Commission’s ShareBase portal at one time. Your application will be found administratively deficient and possibly denied if any portion is missing or incomplete and you fail to timely cure the deficiency.

No. The Completed application form, necessary attachments, and all key person disclosures must all be uploaded to the Commission’s ShareBase portal at one time. Your application will be found administratively deficient and possibly denied if any portion is missing or incomplete and you fail to timely cure the deficiency.

Instructions on how to complete and submit an amendment to the application are provided via confirmation email after submission of your application. Please refer to that email and contact [email protected] with any questions.

Instructions on how to complete and submit an amendment to the application are provided via confirmation email after submission of your application. Please refer to that email and contact [email protected] with any questions.

Instructions on how to complete and submit an amendment to the application are provided via confirmation email after submission of your application. Please refer to that email and contact [email protected] with any questions.

Applicants will be notified via email each time the status of their application changes. The email will be directed to the primary contact provided in the application form. Frequent requests for status updates may delay the investigation and review of your application.

It is the goal of the Commission to complete the licensing process efficiently. NC law provided that the Commission will review and make a licensing determination within 60 days from receipt of a completed application. The Commission may extend the review period for an additional 30 days if the background investigation is outstanding.

Any licensee whose business provides determinations on sports bet outcomes must have a service provider license.

Yes. A licensed service provider is deemed to also hold a supplier license for services, goods, software, or components provided in-house. The Commission recommends that a business that plans to provide services that could fall under both license types seek a service provider license so that all their sports betting related services are covered and authorized under their licensure.

You name may be similar to someone who signed up for self-exclusion, causing the operator to flag your account. If you have not signed up for self-exclusion, contact your operator and they may ask questions or require documentation to verify you are eligible to make wagers. You may also be excluded based on programs in other states. Contact your operator to confirm the reason you are signed up for self-exclusion.

Yes. A licensed interactive sports betting operator is deemed to also hold a service provider license and a supplier license for services, goods, software, or components provided in-house.

No. The Commission cannot approve the scope of an applicant’s key person disclosures based on limited information prior to its application submission. The applicant bears the ultimate burden of identifying key persons for its organization, based upon the statute, Commission rules, and application requirements. The Commission is unable to evaluate the sufficiency of an applicant’s key person disclosures until the full application has been submitted for review.

Generally, no. Commission staff does not provide advisory opinions to applicants or potential applicants; general guidance, however, appears in this FAQ. The Commission encourages applicants and potential applicants to seek private legal counsel to assist them in determining which license, if any, to apply for. The Commission is unable to provide legal advice.

A business entity that conducts advertising, marketing, or branding on behalf of, or to the benefit of, an operator does not need to obtain a license from the Commission. However, an operator must ensure that an individual or entity that undertakes such activities as its direction or for its benefit adheres to statutory requirements, Commission’s rules, and the operator’s applicable internal controls. An operator may be held responsible for any affiliate marketer’s failure to do so. The Commission encourages applicants and potential applicants to seek private legal counsel to assist them in determining which license, if any, to apply for. The Commission is unable to provide legal advice.

An entity that solely provides general payment processing services and does not otherwise provide services uniquely used to create sports betting markets or determine sports betting outcomes does not presently require a license with the Commission.

By way of example, general payment processing functions could include serving as mediator between an operator and the functional institution to facilitate the transfer of funds or enabling operators to accept credit and debit cards and process related transactions, both online and in-person. When an entity provides to an operator not only general payment processing functions, but also functions or services that could influence or impact sports betting activities (e.g. identity or age verification services), then it will likely require a license.

When determining if a self-identified payment processer could influence or impact sports betting such that it requires a license, the Commission may look at other factors including, but not limited to, whether the entity:

  • Is a business-to-business entity;
  • Directs its services to members of the general public or, specifically, registered players with sports betting accounts;
  • Holds funds in player accounts;
  • Can access or utilize player data outside of data needed to conduct payment processing activities;
  • Can access, view, influence, or change player accounts, profiles, bets, or odds; or
  • Advertises on behalf of an operator.

The Commission encourages applicants and potential applicants to seek private legal counsel to assist them in determining which license, if any, to apply for. The Commission is unable to provide legal advice.

A business entity that provides necessary services to the creation of sports betting markets in NC, such as geolocation services, needs to obtain a supplier license. The Commission encourages applicants and potential applicants to seek private legal counsel to assist them in determining which license, if any, to apply for. The Commission is unable to provide legal advice.

A business entity that provides necessary services to the creation of sports betting markets in NC, such as customer identity, age verification or “know your consumer” services, needs to obtain a supplier license. The Commission encourages applicants and potential applicants to seek private legal counsel to assist them in determining which license, if any, to apply for. The Commission is unable to provide legal advice.

Generally, no. Businesses providing general-purpose telecommunication services, internet services, and other similar serves or goods not specifically designed for use in connection with sports betting that have no direct or indirect influence on sports betting activities, do not need to obtain a supplier license. The Commission encourages applicants and potential applicants to seek private legal counsel to assist them in determining which license, if any, to apply for. The Commission is unable to provide legal advice.

Yes. A business entity that provides the operating system or virtual environment used to offer sports betting over the internet, including websites and mobile devices, on behalf of an operator, needs to obtain a supplier license. The Commission encourages applicants and potential applicants to seek private legal counsel to assist them in determining which license, if any, to apply for. The Commission is unable to provide legal advice.

Yes. Please request an interactive sports betting operator license application. In Section B of the application where information regarding the written designation agreement is requested, please respond with “Not Applicable” or “N/A.”

In response to this application question, please provide in the application submission a statement that the organization has never conduced business in North Carolina or has not incurred any state tax liability. If the applicant obtains a sports betting license in North Carolina, the Commission may request further documentation of tax compliance after the organization’s first tax filings with NC.

The application form and the Multi-Jurisdictional Personal Disclosure may be signed using an electronic signature program that complies with the ESIGN Act, 15 US Code, Chapter 96, or by printing, signing, and scanning the signature page. However, the Statement of Truth at the end of the Multi-Jurisdictional Personal Disclosure must be signed in accordance with the state notary laws in your area. All signature pages must be saved in PDF format and clearly titled and identified.

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