North Carolina Lawmakers Reportedly Agree on Sports Betting Tax Increase

• According to WRAL, North Carolina lawmakers have reportedly agreed on increasing the state’s sports betting tax rate
• Lawmakers are considering an increase of the state’s sports betting rate to somewhere in the 20% to 30% range
• WRAL believes the eventual rate will be at the lower end of the range

---

North Carolina lawmakers may have agreed to include an increase to the state’s sports betting tax rate in its upcoming budget.

According to a WRAL report, legislators have agreed to include an increase to the state’s sports betting tax rate to somewhere in the range of 20% to 30%, an increase from the current rate of 18% of sports betting tax revenues.

The state began considering an increase to the sports betting tax rate last month.

Increase Likely This Year

The newest WRAL report notes that an agreement has been in place to raise the state’s sports betting tax rate on gross gaming revenues to something in the lower end of the 20% to 30% range.

However, the report also notes that legislators could amend the increase if they continue to receive pushback from the sports betting industry and the state’s eight regulated licensed online sports betting operators.

This is the second year in a row North Carolina lawmakers have considered an increase to the sports betting tax rate. During 2025 budget negotiations, North Carolina Senate members included an increase to the state’s sports betting tax rate to 36% in their approved budget, up from its current rate of 18%. The House of Representatives, however, did not advocate for an increase and it was ultimately not included in the state’s finalized budget document.

North Carolina currently has eight licensed online sports betting operators who pay an 18% tax rate on gross sports betting revenue. So far in fiscal year 2026, the licensed sports betting operators have contributed nearly $133.06 million in tax revenues to North Carolina, according to the North Carolina State Lottery Commission.

Per-Bet Fee May Still Be Considered

WRAL previously reported lawmakers are considering a potential per-bet fee for licensed sports betting operators. Its latest update on the budget process did not touch on this per-bet possibility going into place.

Illinois is currently the only other state in the country with a per-bet model, which has raised the ire of the sports betting industry.

Gov. JB Pritzker (D) approved a budget in June 2025 that included a new per-bet fee for all licensed online sports betting operators. The per-bet fee went into effect on July 1, 2025, and resulted in more than $5.2 million in revenue during its first month of operation.

Companies are required to pay a $0.25 charge on the first 20,000,000 online sports bets taken in the state each year. The fee increases to $0.50 per bet for every single bet taken after the initial 20,000,000 bets.

Licensed operators in Illinois pushed back on the decision before ultimately implementing per-bet fees for customers using their online sports betting platforms. All 10 licensed operators in the state approved transaction fees for customers.

DraftKings, FanDuel, and Caesars Sportsbook began charging Illinois customers a per-bet fee of either $0.25 or $0.50 on Monday, Sept. 1, 2025. FanDuel currently charges users $0.50 per bet, Caesars Sportsbook charges users a fee of $0.25 per bet, while DraftKings charges users either $0.25 or $0.50 per bet.

Fanatics Sportsbook also charges $0.25 per-bet in the Prairie State.

Circa Sports requires a $10 minimum bet amount for Illinois sports betting customers, while ESPN BET requires a $1 bet minimum as well.

BetMGM, Hard Rock Bet, and BetRivers also instituted or upped their minimum bet amounts in the state. Hard Rock Bet instituted a $2 minimum bet amount for users, BetMGM instituted a $2.50 minimum bet amount, and BetRivers now requires a $1 minimum bet.

Bet365 charges $0.25 per bet, but not for bets more than $10.