On June 14, when Gov. Roy Cooper signed a bill allowing online sports betting in North Carolina, the ceremony was at Spectrum Center, the Charlotte Hornets’ home court. The NBA franchise was part of a coalition with the state’s NFL and NHL teams, among others in sports, that helped win final passage after several years of lobbying.
The Hornets, like their big-league siblings, want sports betting not just because fans who bet watch more of their games and watch more often, but also because the new law provides major venues across the state with the option to open a sportsbook within a half-mile of their arenas, stadiums and tracks.