North Carolina Fines Bet365 for Sports Betting Legal Violation

Bet365 will pay a fine of $75,000 after committing a sports betting legal violation in North Carolina. The sportsbook issued notifications to people who had placed themselves on the self-exclusion list, thereby violating North Carolina state law.

On Sept. 23, North Carolina announced that fine, as well as a fine against a sportsbook that no longer operates. The state fined Underdog Sports $175,000 for failing to verify 38 underage accounts while operating in the Tar Heel State.

The number of accounts that Bet365 contacted wasn’t released. Although contacting a self-excluded player isn’t seen as serious as allowing underage bettors to make deposits and place wagers, it’s still considered a severe sports betting legal violation.

What Is the Sports Betting Legal Violation in Question?

In each state, people who don’t want to be involved in gambling can place themselves on a self-exclusionary list. When that’s done, sportsbooks and casinos may no longer target that person with advertising. They also cannot permit them to operate an account or be on their property.

Once a person places themselves on the self-exclusion list, they cannot get off of it for any reason until their time expires. In North Carolina, a self-excluded person can choose a ban of one, three, or five years, or for life. During that time frame, a person who has self-excluded cannot access an existing account or set up a new one. Should they enter casino or sportsbook property, they risk arrest for trespassing.

There are two main reasons a person would choose to self-exclude. If someone wants to opt out of gambling entirely, they can do so without ever creating an account. The second is to curb problem gambling. These people usually have created multiple accounts and seen their gambling cause problems, leading them to ask for legal restrictions to help them.

How Would Bet365 Have Committed Such a Sports Betting Legal Violation?

Most likely, Bet365 failed to check its accounts closely. Even though people self-exclude, the sportsbook operator can keep their information in their system if they’ve played before. If the person chose a shorter period as a cooling-off time, this makes it relatively easy to reactivate their account after they’ve taken time away from gambling.

But if the sportsbook does this, it has to ensure it doesn’t accidentally send a notification to someone on the self-exclusion list. That appears to be what happened here. Bet365 didn’t check its system and sent out a push notification while self-excluded people were still on the list to receive it.

As with trying to get off the self-exclusion list, there is no tolerance available. According to reports, bet365 admitted the mistake and accepted the fine without issue.

What Happened With Underdog Sports?

Underdog Sports was one of the original eight sportsbooks to launch in North Carolina in 2024. Between that effort in March 2024 and December 2025, when it surrendered its license, it allowed 38 underage people to create sports betting accounts.

Of those 38, eight people managed to place wagers. That sports betting legal violation led to the fine, which appears to be the largest in North Carolina’s two-year history of legal sports betting.

Underdog Sports abandoned its North Carolina sports betting license in December 2025. That decision doesn’t appear related to this violation. Underdog is more known for daily fantasy sports, and North Carolina was its only state where it operated a sportsbook. When it gave up its license, it said it was a business decision.

However, that did not save it from past violations. Per Eric Snider, the Chief Regulatory Officer for the North Carolina State Lottery Commission’s Regulated Gaming Division, Underdog self-admitted the violations and cooperated with the investigation.