North Carolina Regulator Issues Fines to Two Sportsbooks
David Genge Published 01/10/2026
The North Carolina Lottery Commission, the state regulator over sports betting, has issued fines to online sportsbooks Underdog and Bet365 for separate violations of state gaming laws. Underdog was cited for allowing underage gamblers to open up accounts and place bets on its platform. Meanwhile, Bet365 was fined for sending promotional materials and offers to customers who had voluntarily placed themselves on the statewide self-exclusion list.
Both betting sites self-reported the error in their ways to North Carolina Lottery Commission officials and willingly participated in the regulatory investigation that led to the fines being issued to each of the sportsbooks. The punishments were announced during the most recent meeting of the North Carolina Lottery Commission.
The North Carolina Lottery Commission fines Underdog $175,000
Underdog was assessed the larger of the two fines that were issued for regulatory violations. Investigation by state regulators revealed that it was a flaw in Underdog's verification process that resulted in a large number of underage gamblers opening sports betting accounts on the site's platform.
In total, 38 underage players were able to slip through the cracks, circumvent Underdog's security and open sports betting accounts. In issuing its ruling, regulators from the North Carolina Lottery Commission revealed that 30 of those players were later unearthed by Underdog and had their accounts immediately shut down before they were ever able to place a bet. However, eight underage players got through the site's security firewall of age and identity checks unscathed and were able to place sports bets on the platform before being detected by Underdog employees.
In North Carolina, the legal gambling age is 21 years old.
Underdog no longer operates a sportsbook in North Carolina
It should be noted that these violations of state compliance and consumer protection protocols came about while Underdog was still operating an online sportsbook in the Tar Heel State. Underdog was among the original online sites to launch when North Carolina voted to legalize online sports betting in 2024.
However, the company decided in 2025 to pivot into the prediction market business. In September 2025, Underdog launched Underdog Predicts. The company formed a partnership with Crypto.com to offer users the chance to trade sports-event contracts through a Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)-registered exchange
On December 16, 2025, Underdog shut down its sports betting operation in North Carolina. The Tar Heel State was the only jurisdiction in which Underdog was operating an online sports betting site. Underdog informed the North Carolina Lottery Commission several months in advance of its plan to relinquish its sports betting licence in the state.
Bet365 is receiving punishment over a technical error
The North Carolina Lottery Commission was issuing Bet365 a $75,000 fine. The punishment was over the company's failure to halt the issuing of betting promotional offers to customers who had opted into the state's self-exclusion program. According to the findings of the investigation, there was a glitch in Bet365's software. This result was a failure of the Bet365 system to enter that state's self-exclusion list. That resulted in people on the self-exclusion list receiving push notifications of the company's promotional and marketing materials.
North Carolina regulations require that all licensed sportsbooks participate in the statewide self-exclusion program. It also mandates preventing people on this list from receiving any marketing or promotional offers.
After discovering the mistake, Bet365 self-reported the violation to the state regulator. The company also voluntarily participated in the ensuing investigation. In response, Bet365 is instituting several changes in how it handles promotional materials. Along with updating internal policies, solutions they are putting into place include an upgrade in employee training.
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