North Carolina Sees Massive Tax Revenue in First Month of Sports Betting

The Tar Heel State released the numbers from their first month of sports betting, and they were even more impressive than expected.

The North Carolina State Lottery Commission (NCSLC) announced this week that around $12 million in sports betting tax revenue was generated in March. That revenue came from a $659.3 million handle, which is taxed at 18%. Sports betting launched in the state on March 11, meaning the numbers don’t cover a full month, making them even more impressive. North Carolina’s handle is more than Massachusetts, which has a similar population and had a March handle of $642 million. 

The substantial March numbers can be attributed to a couple of different factors. First is the $202 million in promotional bets, which include pre-registration and welcome bonuses offered by the state’s eight sportsbooks.

Individual numbers for each sportsbook have not been released, though DraftKings and FanDuel are expected to once again capture the lion’s share of the market.

Catawba Tribe Still Searching for Partnership

The state currently has one license awarded that has yet to be launched. The Catawba Two Kinds Casino was granted the state’s ninth sports betting license, but it has yet to find a partner to launch its online sportsbook. They have not offered any updates on their search, meaning there is no estimated date for when it will go live.

While many of the country’s major sportsbooks already live in the Tar Heel State, some are still available for the Catawba Tribe to partner with. One of the major players without a partner in the state is BetRivers, which has now expanded to 15 states.

North Carolina’s sports betting laws for a total of 13 operators. The state's early success could lead to more operators entering the market in the near future.