What North Carolina Addiction Professionals Need to Know About Recent Gambling Policy Changes

What North Carolina Addiction Professionals Need to Know About Recent Gambling Policy Changes  By Emeline Smith, APNC    A new report from the Foundation for Drug Policy Solutions (FDPS) focuses on the harms of commercialized sports betting in the U.S. and in North Carolina. Below are recent policy updates relevant to that report.    Prediction Markets Face Growing Legal Scrutiny  A key question surrounding prediction markets is whether sports-related event contracts should be regulated solely by the federal government or whether states also have authority over them. On August 28, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a decision in KalshiEX, LLC v. Assad rejecting Kalshi’s argument that federal law preempts Nevada from applying its gambling laws to sports-related event contracts. That decision conflicts with a Third Circuit ruling earlier this year in KalshiEX, LLC v. Flaherty, adding to the uncertainty over how these platforms will ultimately be regulated.    North Carolina Raises Sports Betting Tax + Implements Prediction Market Tax  North Carolina’s new state budget increased the tax rate on licensed online sports betting operators from 18% to 23% of gross wagering revenue. The state collected more than $262 million in sports betting operator taxes across 2024 and 2025, while continuing to allocate $2 million annually toward gambling addiction education and treatment programs.    The budget also created a 6% tax on prediction markets operating in North Carolina under Commodity Future Trading Commission oversight, including Kalshi and Polymarket.    North Carolina became the third state this year to introduce a prediction market tax and the first to explicitly recognize the CFTC’s claim of exclusive regulatory authority over these markets. As a result, prediction markets remain available to North Carolinians ages 18 and older without the same state-level oversight applied to licensed sports betting operators.    As sports betting and prediction markets continue to evolve, understanding these regulatory differences is increasingly important for addiction professionals, policymakers, and consumers.  Read the full FDPS Sports Betting Report for additional context.