North Carolina online sports betting launched two weeks ago and business has been booming.
The North Carolina Lottery Commission reported for the first week of online sports betting more than $198.1 million in bets, with $23.9 million occurring on Monday, March 11, the state’s official sports betting launch.
The commission also shared sports betting estimates that should spur further positivity for North Carolina’s first month of operation.
Hundreds of Millions in Bets Estimated for First Month
Sterl Carpenter, deputy executive director of gaming compliance and sports betting, presented the first week’s online sports betting numbers to the commission. He noted that these are preliminary figures and aggregate amounts, which may ultimately different from amounts reported to the North Carolina Department of Revenue.
“By all accounts, North Carolina online sports betting is off to a strong start,” Carpenter said.
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.
As for the first week’s totals, the state reported $198,102,112 in online sports betting handle, with $81.3 million of the total being paid for with promotional wagers.
Carpenter said the state estimated $42,683,281 in gross wagering revenue for the first week of operation. If those estimates hold true, at the state’s 18% tax rate this would result in more than $7.68 million in sports betting tax revenue for the week.
North Carolina Compares Favorably With Other State Launches
Carpenter reported that estimates show the first month of North Carolina online sports betting may see more than $594 million in bets placed. While all state launches are different, Carpenter said North Carolina’s compares favorably with a similarly populated state. It stands to reason numerous sports fans took advantage of bonus bet welcomes incentives like the ones available through the bet365 NC bonus code and DraftKings NC promo code.
Massachusetts launched online sports betting on March 10, 2023, a week before the NCAA’s March Madness basketball tournament. The state launched sports betting at the same time of year as North Carolina and features a similar population.
During its first month, Massachusetts reported an online sports betting handle of $548.23 million. If North Carolina’s estimates hold true, Carpenter said it will outpace Massachusetts during its first month of operation.
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.
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