Online sports betting was made legal in North Carolina on March 11 of this year. Things started well, with March Madness giving North Carolina sports fans a reason to try out the new digital betting option. This continued through April but dipped significantly in May. 

 

While it’s not yet possible to tell how well June performed in terms of sports betting, the increase and sharp decrease in revenue gained indicates that sports betting has undergone a rocky start. 

 

Is online gambling popular in North Carolina? 

Given that online sports betting was only made legal a few months ago, it may take the state a little while to adjust to the widespread accessibility of online sports wagering. 

 

However, that’s not to say that residents of the state had no access to online betting before March. Last November, the North Carolina Education Lottery launched a series of “digital instant” games, which are basically digital versions of scratch-off tickets. Plus, since 2012, the NC Education Lottery has also been offering an online lottery draw to win cash and prizes. 

 

It is currently illegal for companies that are based in North Carolina to offer online casino gambling. However, should residents of the state wish to play casino games such as blackjack on mobile, they can easily use apps to do so. According to Sergio Zammit, these offshore betting apps are not only accessible to North Carolina residents but also come with a wide gaming selection and crypto-betting compatibility. 

 

So, while North Carolina-based online sports betting is a new concept, online gambling isn’t, and residents of the state have had access to it long before the introduction of sports wagering in March. 

The initial success of online sports betting 

Sports betting was off to a good start in March, despite not being legal for the first 10 days of the month. Still, the state reported a high gross gaming revenue (GGR) for the launch month, with $66.5 million generated. This was exceeded massively by April’s $105.3 million. 

 

As aforementioned, March Madness definitely encouraged plenty of sports betting to take place in the initial month. The NCAA tournament captivated audiences in North Carolina given that three teams from the state – NC, Duke, and UNC – were playing in the competition. After the Super Bowl, the NCAA is the most bet-on sporting event in the US. 

 

In April, the NBA season starts and the NHL season ends, which definitely encourages a lot of betting. 

 

The sudden drop in sports wagering 

However, the success of online gambling revenue didn’t last, given that the state experienced a 40.1% drop in May. 

 

According to the North Carolina State Lottery Commission, a total of $525,548,571 was wagered during May. Despite this, the gross gaming revenue for the month only reached $63.1 million, which not only reflected a significant drop from April, but also a 5.3% drop when compared to March. 

 

The significant drop can be blamed on several reasons – including the fact that there are fewer sporting events in late May in North Carolina. Specifically, there are no major college sports events. 

 

Has the introduction of retail sports betting made an impact? 

Online sports betting wasn’t the only mode of sports wagering that was recently legalized in North Carolina. The passage of HB 347 in June of 2023 legalized all forms of sports betting, including retail betting. This meant that residents could finally enter a brick-and-mortar betting facility and place a wager on their favorite sports team. 

 

The concurrent introduction of retail sports betting may have contributed to the high level of interest during the first couple of months and then the sudden drop in May. 

 

The novelty of placing a bet in person has likely worn off for many, particularly given that residents need to drive to one of the state’s three brick-and-mortar casinos in order to place the bet. 

 

Unlike other states, physical sports bets can only be placed at one of North Carolina’s tribal casinos. The state does not have any specially dedicated sports betting shops throughout the country. 

 

North Carolina also only has three tribal casinos. For most people, these casinos are too far away to justify driving just to place a bet. For example, if you live in Raleigh or anywhere else in the East, you’re looking at a three-hour drive minimum to place an in-person bet. 

 

Final Thoughts 

Sports wagering has had inconsistent revenue levels so far, but that isn’t indicative of the state’s sports wagering future. As more sporting events come up, residents of the Tar Heel state will have more reasons to place sports bets. The spike in March and April came as a result of the major sporting events that occurred during these months, while the drop in May reflected the lack of sports in late spring.