North Carolina
NASCAR Expands Sports Betting In North Carolina, When Remains A Question
CONCORD, NORTH CAROLINA – OCTOBER 08: Tyler Reddick, driver of the #45 Jordan Brand Toyota, … [+]
NASCAR will expand its gaming footprint to include the industry’s traditional home market. When that expansion will happen, however, remains to be determined.
After years of being a taboo subject in the sport, in recent years NASCAR has sought to expand opportunities to engage with fans. One of those engagement opportunities has been gaming though such things as NASCAR fantasy leagues and last season a Powerball promotion that ran nearly the entire season culminating in a $1 million prize given away at the season’s final championship race at Phoenix.
Online sports gambling has been gaining in popularity since 2018 when a U.S. Supreme Court ruling allowed individual states to legalize and regulate sports betting. Currently 35 states allow some form of legal sports betting, with 21 offering full online wagering, and four with more restricted mobile betting.
NASCAR has been moving towards online gambling in recent years. In 2020 they put a policy in place that prohibited drivers, owners, crew members, and officials from betting on NASCAR races and barred them from revealing any inside information for “their own gain, or for the gain of others.”
In 2021 NASCAR became the first sports league to partner with the American Gaming Association. Richard Childress Racing became the first team to jump on board signing with BetMGM as a sponsor in 2021.
Prior to the start of the 2023 season NASCAR joined with gaming partners BetMGM, WynnBET and Penn Entertainment
PENN
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – AUGUST 15: Tyler Reddick, #8 Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet Camaro BetMGM … [+]
North Carolina passed a bill last year that authorized up to 12 legal online sportsbooks, as well as eight in-person sportsbooks at professional sports venues in the state. The law was later amended to require that each operator have a license agreement with a professional sports organization within the state. Each of those licenses carries a $1 million fee for five years as well as an 18% tax with revenues supporting many of North Carolina’s publicly funded colleges and supporting a major event fund which the state hopes to use to recruit national sports and entertainment events for additional tourism, job creation and economic impacts.
Under the new law there are currently 11 organizations qualified to partner with the legal online sportsbooks. NASCAR was listed alongside the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets, the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes, and the NFL’s Carolina Panthers among others. Also listed were Charlotte Motor Speedway and North Wilkesboro Speedway, both owned by Speedway Motorsports.
This past week both of NASCAR’s eligible entities announced online sportsbooks partnerships.
Friday, Speedway Motorsports announced a market access agreement with BetMGM and Charlotte Motor Speedway that will allow BetMGM to bring its online sports betting platform to the state.
“We wanted to move forward into this new era of sports entertainment with a progressive sportsbook,” said Charlotte Motor Speedway executive vice president and general manager Greg Walter. “This partnership with BetMGM will bring sports fans new ways to enjoy their favorite events while expanding North Carolina’s tax base, supporting colleges and facilitating recruitment of major events for the future.”
Shortly after the Speedway Motorsports announcement, NASCAR announced they have come to an agreement with DraftKings that will allow the digital sports entertainment and gaming company to operate in the state of North Carolina.
People check out a Michael Jordan-themed Bubba Wallace race car parked outside DraftKings Sportsbook … [+]
The announcement added that DraftKings also has been named the exclusive daily fantasy sports partner of NASCAR in the United States and Canada, becomes an Authorized Gaming Operator of NASCAR, and will receive additional sponsorship benefits within the NASCAR ecosystem nationally.
“DraftKings and NASCAR have collaborated closely with each other over the years, sharing a likeminded commitment to enhancing the fan experience,” said Matt Kalish, president, DraftKings North America. “We look forward to the next chapter in our journey together and offering our leading mobile sportsbook to fans in the state of North Carolina.”
When all this will happen in North Carolina, however, remains to be seen as the formal start date for sports betting in the state hasn’t been finalized. State officials overseeing sports betting met this past week to discuss policies and rules that will take effect once the all-clear is given. The date for that all-clear though wasn’t announced.
The period for legalization and the all-clear starts Monday, January 8, though state officials said it will not in reality launch that early. A target date of March 17 was discussed which is the day the NCAA’s Men’s Basketball Tournament will begin but when the actual date will be released is still up in the air.
According to reports legal sports betting in North Carolina could generate $610.7 million in revenue for the state. NASCAR doesn’t share in any of the revenue generated from its gaming partners, instead they benefit from the marketing provided by those partners whose reach extends far beyond the sport.
For now, North Carolina residents and visitors can only bet in person at one of three tribal casinos in the state. But once the all-clear is given NASCAR could see its fans betting on races in the stands at Charlotte Motor Speedway and everywhere else in North Carolina.
ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — The Party for Socialism and Liberation has organized a petition calling on legislators to pass a statewide ban on new data center construction.
“We see that they pollute these communities, they use a lot of water, and ultimately the cost of these data centers are passed on to working-class consumers,” said Cody Cogdell with the Party for Socialism and Liberation Western North Carolina.
According to the Environmental and Energy Study Institute, a large data center can use up to 5 million gallons of water per day. That’s equivalent to the use of a town of 10,000 to 50,000 people.
ASHEVILLE CITY COUNCIL APPROVES 1-YEAR PAUSE ON NEW DATA CENTER DEVELOPMENT
“I don’t support them at all. I think it’s terrible for the environment,” said Asheville resident Madeline Boltinghouse.
She says a statewide ban would be nice.
But Ken Brame, with the environmental organization Sierra Club, says the ban is unlikely to happen.
JULY 1, 2026 – A flyer protesting data centers in Asheville, N.C. (Photo credit: WLOS Staff)
“Banning them all is probably a stretch and I’m just not sure I see our North Carolina legislature going that far,” said Brame.
The petition also calls on the state to repeal the state’s tax incentives for data centers.
“There should be no debate about that. We should not be subsidizing something that hurts our environment,” said Brame.
WEAVERVILLE COUNCIL VOTES TO BLOCK DATA CENTERS IN TOWN, CITING LIMITED RESOURCES
It’s also calling on the legislature to stop Duke Energy from raising rates to pay for more data centers.
Duke Energy sent News 13 a statement saying in part:
Duke Energy does not develop or select data center projects, but we do have an obligation to serve customers in our territory while protecting reliability and keeping costs as low as possible. That’s why we require large-load customers to make significant financial commitments and pay the costs associated with serving them, while their additional revenue helps support grid investments and reduce pressure on future customer bills.
Meanwhile, state lawmakers are working to pass a bill that would require data centers to pay for their own expansion and regulate how much water data centers can use.
A man kidnapped and killed a U.S. Postal Service worker while she was delivering mail in North Carolina last week, police said, orphaning her two daughters, who lost their father just a few months before.
Brandi Reynolds, 35, was found dead following a call for help to authorities in Hays, North Carolina, Friday afternoon, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation said in a statement.
“I can confirm that Brandi Reynolds was delivering mail on her route when the incident occurred,” U.S. Postal Inspector Michael Martel said by email.
Prosecutors in Wilkes County charged William Craig Durham, 56, of the community of Roaring River, with first-degree kidnapping and murder, according to court records.
The defendant, arrested the day of the murder, remained in Wilkes County Jail on Tuesday, according to a third-party inmate information service used by the county. His lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
A warrant filed in district court alleged Durham committed kidnapping “by unlawfully restraining the victim, removing the victim from one place to another without the consent of the victim.”
It said Durham carried out the alleged kidnapping “for the purpose of terrorizing” Reynolds and “doing serious bodily injury” to her.
It’s unclear how Durham allegedly committed the killing. Any weapons that may have been used were not mentioned in the document, and any motive was unavailable.
On Monday, district court Judge Robert J. Crumpton ordered the defendant to remain in custody without bond, citing his “significant criminal record.”
State prison records show Durham has served time for second-degree kidnapping, assault on a female and possession of a gun by a felon, among other offenses.
An investigation into the killing was being conducted jointly by the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Wilkes County Sheriff’s Office and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, the bureau said.
Reynolds was the mother of two girls, according to her obituary. She lost her husband, Brent Reynolds, on Dec. 23, 2025, when the pickup he was driving veered off a road in Rhonda, North Carolina, and struck a tree, according to NBC affiliate WXII of Winston-Salem.
His obituary stated at the time that he was the father of the couple’s two girls — “the light of his life.”
Reynolds’ obituary, likewise, stated that her daughters “were her whole world.”
She left behind her mother, two sisters and several nieces and nephews, it said.
“The U.S. Postal Service is deeply saddened about the death of our colleague, Brandi Byrd Reynolds,” Postal Service spokesperson Martha Johnson said by email. “We extend our heartfelt sympathies to her family, friends, and co-workers at the Hays Post Office.”
RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — North Carolina lawmakers have released a long-delayed state budget proposal that includes higher pay for educators and state employees, along with new funding for community colleges.
The plan, still awaiting legislative approval, outlines several provisions that would directly affect Durham.
The proposal calls for an average 8% raise for teachers and a 3% raise for most state employees, plus one-time bonuses. It also fully funds “Propel NC,” a new community college funding model that rewards schools for training students in high-demand careers rather than focusing solely on enrollment.
Durham Technical Community College President JB Buxton said the model would strengthen programs tied to the region’s growing industries.
“It’s a very good budget for the community colleges,” Buxton said.
Full proposed budget
Durham Tech expects increased support for programs in life sciences, healthcare, and skilled trades — fields that continue to drive the Triangle’s economy. Buxton said those programs reflect the needs of employers across the region.
“If you think about things like electrical systems and technicians, in addition to HVAC, and plumbing and welding, if you think about biomedical engineering, those are areas that are in demand here,” he said.
Buxton said building a strong talent pipeline is essential as the region expands.
“We want to be the workforce development engine in this area, but we also want to be an economic development engine and kind of power our companies,” he said. “Not only bring people to opportunity, but give companies what they need to grow.”
The House and Senate are scheduled to vote on the budget on Wednesday and Thursday. If it passes both chambers, it will go to Gov. Josh Stein, who said he plans to review it closely before deciding whether to sign it.
“What we want is for the state to pass a budget that invests in our people,” Stein said, adding he wants to see more focus on education, public safety and mental health. “There are many things that the state needs to invest in, and we will be scrutinizing it, just as everyone else is, to see if it meets that test.”
Download the ABC11 News app
Copyright © 2026 WTVD-TV. All Rights Reserved.
-
World7 minutes ago
How the Entry-Exit System is becoming a nightmare for Europe's summer travellers
-
News32 minutes agoNewsom’s office responds to SCOTUS ruling on women’s sports as California faces ongoing trans athlete wave
-
Los Angeles, Ca2 hours agoFamily of boy, 8, killed by falling tree branch at Calabasas park to get $14.6M
-
Detroit, MI2 hours agoThe worst Detroit sports uniform from every pro team
-
San Francisco, CA2 hours agoDiscovery Bay driver arrested for San Francisco fatal vehicle collision | Contra Costa Herald
-
Dallas, TX2 hours agoErling Haaland’s Dallas Western wear purchase goes viral
-
Miami, FL3 hours agoMiami’s FIFA Fan Fest draws thousands to Bayfront Park to watch Team USA win World Cup match against Bosnia
-
Boston, MA3 hours ago2026 Yukon Denali Ultimate gets pricey, but tops the charts
