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As North Carolina fast approaches the end of its first full year of legal mobile sports betting the North Carolina Amatuer Sports nonprofit, which is annually allocated $1 million dollars from the legal sports betting revenue has been handing out grants of up to $20,000 per county to local government agencies and nonprofits to help purchase youth sports equipment or upgrade public facilities used by youth sports, according to a report on Axios Charlotte.
The State and NCAS has already awarded grants of nearly quarter of a million dollars including one of $20,000 for two projects in Mecklenburg Country – providing soccer goals and volleyball equipment.
“We asked for funding for new athletic equipment that was not in our budget,” said Pineville Parks & Recreation director Matthew Jakubowski, “We just started a new youth volleyball league for girls, and we did not have any equipment to provide this program.”
In an interview with Axios, Elon University sport management professor Bill Squadron said, “The legalization of sports betting in North Carolina has achieved what people expected, which is a significant new revenue stream that can support a whole range of important initiatives, and youth sports is one of them”.
North Carolina Rep. Zack Hawkins said, “These grants have provided athletics equipment, fields and facilities, and leagues to get our children playing and competing.”
However, it is reported that more than half of the State’s counties still have their allocation available.
Alongside the revenue for sports equipment, the sports betting revenue also allocates $2 million dollars annually to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services for gambling addiction education and treatment.
On top of this, 13 state college athletic programs also receive funding.
