“North Carolina is a state that we’ve been really dying to get into for a couple of years now,” said DraftKings Chief Commercial Officer Jeremy Elbaum at a public event in Charlotte while retired Carolina Panthers player Greg Olsen placed a ceremonial first online bet to celebrate the state legalizing sports betting.

Last day, on March 11, DraftKings Inc. announced its plans to launch a top-rated online sportsbook in the Tar Heel State. Touted as the next big thing, sports betting is expected to have a massive effect with digital gambling being the future,  especially since it’s now legal in NC, a state that is known for its rich sporting pedigree with a huge following for sports like NASCAR, NBA, NFL, etc.

With betting premiers like DraftKings, FanDuel BetMGM, and eight others making their way into the NC market, residents will be able to bet on the March Madness tournament for the first time. Reacting to the news, NASCAR sports betting strategist, Joe Solosky shared his thoughts and mentioned how this will shake things up in the industry.

Digital gambling set to explode in North Carolina as the state legalizes sports betting

After several years on the sideline, NC along with Washington, D.C. became the 30th state to offer legal online sports betting Monday. Paying $ 1 million in licensing fees, following the application process for the country’s major sportsbook operators, eight of them will go live for the start of online sports betting in North Carolina.

The list includes major players like, Bet365 / Charlotte Hornet, BetMGM / Charlotte Motor Speedway, Caesars / Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, DraftKings / NASCAR, ESPN BET / Quail Hollow Club (PGA Tour), Fanatics Sportsbook / Carolina Hurricanes, FanDuel / Carolina Panthers and PGA Tour and Underdog / Sedgefield Country Club (PGA Tour).

“This will for sure be a standout state. I have full confidence that North Carolina is going to over-index heavy on NASCAR,” said Solosky to GamingToday.com, reacting to the recent mandate. Entering the market with an alliance with DraftKings, the NASCA executive further stated, “We have our partner in DraftKings in the state that we’re working really hard with to execute over the next [few] days, what the launch is going to look like, what the races in North Carolina are going to look like for them. And nationally as well. The partnership isn’t just North Carolina.” 

“We’re anticipating a big bump and we’ve seen interest from other sportsbooks as well – who are going to be live in North Carolina – of either partnering with a former driver or a current driver or a team because they know how important an endorsement from a driver is to their fans in the state,” he added.

Retired NFL start, Greg Olsen makes the ceremonial first bet on Bubba Wallace

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Commemorating the legalization of sports betting in NC, former NFL star Greg Olsen placed his bet on Bubba Wallace to win the NASCAR Cup Series championship. Olsen showed off his bet at the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte. Now that digital gambling/sports betting is legal in the Tar Heel State, things are certainly going to shake up.

With the Alabama native making it past the regular season for the very first time in his career last year, Olsen believes that his bet on Wallace is going to pay its dividends. Olsen, who played for the NFL team, Carolina Panthers from 2011 to 2019, made a bold bet on Wallace and strongly believes that he will become the 2024 champion. To start the season, Wallace was at +3500 odds to win the Cup Series championship. That has since moved to about +3000 depending on which sportsbook you go through.

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As the sports betting makers arrive, who will you place your bets on to win the championship this season? Let us your thoughts in the comments below.