In March, North Carolina officially legalized sports betting and in the following 20 days, residents of the state placed nearly $660 million in bets. This amount includes both paid bets and promotional wagers, where sportsbooks offer incentives to new customers. Despite passing a law allowing sports gambling in the previous year, it was not officially implemented until March, coinciding with the start of the college basketball tournament.
The North Carolina Lottery Commission is responsible for overseeing sports gambling and has issued licenses to eight companies to accept bets online and through smartphone apps. Popular companies like DraftKings and FanDuel heavily advertised their services leading up to March 11 and throughout the NCAA basketball tournament. The most recent data on sports betting activity in North Carolina comes from the Lottery Commission’s initial monthly report.
Sports betting has proven to be highly lucrative for companies accepting wagers in North Carolina, with total revenue reaching nearly $66.5 million in just 20 days in March. The state will tax this revenue at a rate of 18%. The Lottery Commission is currently working on implementing other aspects of the sports wagering law, such as allowing physical sportsbooks to operate in North Carolina.
