North Carolina Sees Millions During First Week of Online Sports Betting

• North Carolina’s first week of online sports betting resulted in robust handle and revenue estimates
• The North Carolina Lottery Commission described the launch as overly positive
• First week saw $198.1 million in online sports bets

North Carolina online sports betting had a brisk first week of business.

The North Carolina Lottery Commission reported $198.1 million in online sports bets for its first week, with nearly $24 million being placed during its first day on Monday, March 11.

If the estimates stay true, the state will likely net more than $7.5 million in sports betting tax revenue for its first week.

North Carolina Launch Sees Millions Bet

Sterl Carpenter, deputy executive director of gaming compliance and sports betting, presented the state’s first week online sports betting numbers to the commission. He noted that these are preliminary figures and aggregate amounts, which may ultimately different from the final totals reported to the North Carolina Department of Revenue.

For the Monday, March 11 online sports betting launch, Carpenter reported $23,945,654 in online sports betting bets, of which $12.3 million were promotional wagers. In total, the state reported $11.03 million in gross sports wagering revenue for its first day.

As for the first week’s total, the state reported $198,102,112 in online sports betting handle, with $81.3 million of the total being paid for with promotional wagers.

“By all accounts, North Carolina online sports betting is off to a strong start,” Carpenter said.

For its first week, North Carolina is estimate $42,683,281 in gross wagering revenue. At the state’s 18% sports betting tax rate, North Carolina stands to see $7.68 million in sports betting tax revenue for the week.

Outpacing Similar State Launches

While comparing state launches can be like comparing apples and oranges, Carpenter said Massachusetts is the most similar state for North Carolina to compare its launch. Both states launched sports betting in March just prior to the NCAA basketball tournament (Massachusetts launched on March 10, 2023) and have similar populations.

Carpenter estimated that North Carolina will likely see $594 million in online sports bets for the first month. Massachusetts’ first month saw $548.23 million during its March 2023 launch.

The director’s numbers backed up recent data published by GeoComply, a geolocation compliance company. During the first 48-hours of online sports betting activity, GeoComply reported more than 5.36 million geolocation checks in the state. A geolocation check does not equate a placed bet, but is more closely associated with a user logging onto a sports betting account.
By comparison, GeoComply recorded just a little over 2 million geolocation checks from neighboring Virginia during the same time period. Virginia has been live with online sports betting since January 2021.