North Carolinians have wagered more than $1 billion on NCAA basketball championships, the NHL playoffs and other events since sports betting launched on March 11.
They’ve also capitalized on promotional offers from licensed bookies like FanDuel and DraftKings to place an additional $282.3 million in bets, the State Lottery Commission says.
That means they’ve placed $1.3 billion in bets — and $1.1 billion of those have paid off, the commission reported on Friday.
Book operators made $171.7 million in taxable “gross wagering revenue” since the launch.
The state gets 18%, which translates into $30.8 million in new revenue.
Already, that’s enough to cover the obligations North Carolina legislators wrote into the sports-wagering bill they passed last year.
Those include mandatory transfers of $2 million to the state Department of Health and Human Services to help pay for gambling-addiction prevention programs; $1 million to N.C. Amateur Sports, $3.9 million in subsidies to athletic programs at the UNC System’s non-flagship universities; and $1 million to the N.C. Youth Outdoor Engagement Commission.
Lottery commission officials note that once those obligations are paid, half of all additional wagering-tax revenue will flow into the state’s general fund.
Another 30% will go to a new “major events” fund, and the remaining 20% will be distributed to the 13 universities for subsidizing their athletic programs.
The Charlotte Regional Business Alliance was instrumental in advocating for sports wagering legislation last year, championing its potential benefit to North Carolina’s economy, revenue streams, and competitiveness. To read more about the CLT Alliance’s policy position, click here. The CLT Alliance’s 2024 Legislative Agenda can be found here.
