Online sports betting is close to becoming legal in North Carolina.

Driving the news: Last week, House Bill 347 passed in the N.C. House of Representatives 64-45. It'll go onto the Senate, which approved a sports betting bill in 2021.

• Gov. Roy Cooper (D) has said he will sign the bill.

Why it matters: Although sports betting is legal at three casinos in North Carolina, the state "is a largely untapped market" compared with the majority of the country, including neighboring Virginia and Tennessee, which both allow online sports betting, as the AP noted.

Zoom out: Legal sports betting could generate an estimated $28.6 million in revenue within the first 18 months of legalization — an amount critics say is hardly worth it for the damage it may bring, per Axios Raleigh.

Details of the bill:

• It allows betting on college sports, the Olympics, e-sports and pro sports for people 21 and older.
• It forbids betting on youth sports, high school sports and horse racing.
• The state will authorize 10-12 "interactive sports wagering operators" (sportsbooks) and tax them 14%.
• That money would go to athletic departments at public colleges and a new fund to attract major sporting events to the state, per WRAL.
• If signed into law, the measure would take effect Jan. 8, 2024 — the day of the College Football National Championship game.

What they're saying: Rep. Jason Saine, a Lincoln County Republican and lead sponsor of the bill, called sports betting "a form of entertainment, something that consenting adults with their own money should have the right to do," as ABC 11 in Raleigh reported.

• "It is already happening, and ignoring the issue only makes it worse as other states around us continue to legalize it," Saine said, per the station.
• Saine did not respond to a request for additional comment.

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Brand Ambassador at Diamonds Direct.

• Company overview: Offering one of America's largest selections of certified diamonds and designer jewelry.
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• Must-have: Experience in a position that demonstrated positive influential relationships.

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💻 Kingsmen Software has opened its new 16,000-square-foot headquarters at the Gama Goat Building (1701 N. Graham St.) at Camp North End, per a company statement.

• In addition to offices at its new HQ, Kingsmen, which creates custom software products, has outdoor seating, a podcast recording studio, a 12-foot video wall and a speakeasy pub.

🍽️ Charlotte restaurant chain Firebirds has been sold to New York investment firm Garnett Station Partners (CBJ)

• Firebirds was started in 2000 with the StoneCrest restaurant in south Charlotte. It now has 56 locations across 20 states, including locally in SouthPark, Huntersville and at Northlake Mall.

🏀 The weeklong Big South Basketball Championships will not be returning to Bojangles Coliseum next year. (CBJ)

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and Gov. Cooper were in Hickory last week for two separate announcements about plans to improve broadband access in rural areas.

• Corning Inc. opened its new fiber optic cable manufacturing campus. The company says it will add hundreds of jobs to its existing North Carolina workforce of more than 5,000.
• CommScope said it'll invest an additional $47 million toward expanding its U.S. fiber optic cable manufacturing, including its Hickory facility.

What they're saying: "We have a tremendous opportunity not just to close the digital divide for millions of Americans, but also to revitalize domestic manufacturing industry, make more products and technologies in America, and create good manufacturing jobs here in Hickory and across the country," Raimondo said in a statement.