North Carolina Posts Second-Largest Handle in November

The North Carolina State Lottery Commission released its sports betting industry report for November, and the handle was the second-highest since mobile sports wagering launched in March of this year.

Real Money Winner

North Carolina launched mobile sports betting in March, and the debut month proved to be its highest handle on record as it included the very popular ACC men’s college basketball tournament and March Madness.

However, there is more to that than meets the eye, as the sportsbooks flooded the market with promotions and bonus bets, which artificially jacked up the handle to a record $693.3 million, of which $202.6 million was promotion and $480.7 million was real money.

If we review November’s handle, we see that $657.7 million was wagered, but only $19 million was derived from bonus bets. Therefore, the $638 million in real money wagers is the number that matters to the sportsbooks and easily tops March’s $480.7 million. However, technically, bonus bets count in sports betting handles, which means the record still belongs to March.

High Stakes, High Revenues

However, revenues were clearly up after an October that saw unusually lower revenues nationwide due to less-than-average holds or win rates. Favorable outcomes to the bettors meant lower profits for the sportsbooks.

However, November proved to be a stunning rebound as North Carolina sportsbooks had an average hold of 11.8%, which triggered a monthly gross gaming revenue record of $78.1 million, surpassing the previous high of $70.1 million in September.

North Carolina’s eight mobile sportsbooks, including FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM, Caesars, Fanatics Sportsbook, ESPN BET, bet365, and Underdog, are taxed at 18% on revenues and cut the state’s taxman a combined check for $14.1 million in November.

Objectives Reached

The Tar Heel State has proven to be a robust sports betting market, as the state’s sports bettors have wagered $4.8 billion since the March launch, which has produced nearly $548 million in revenue for the sports betting platforms and nearly $100 million for the state.

One of the lead sponsors of the sports betting legislation was Representative Jason Saine, a Lincoln County Republican, who argued, “Sports betting is a form of entertainment, something that consenting adults with their own money should have the right to do. It is already happening, and ignoring the issue only makes it worse as other states around us continue to legalize it. The immoral thing is to let the illegal market continue.”

Before sports betting was passed in North Carolina, the legislature’s fiscal staff estimated the state would make approximately $20 million in revenue in the first full year (2024-2025).

Rep. Jay Adams, a Catawba County Republican who was a vocal opponent of sports betting, admonished his colleagues. “Your vote on this bill is your legacy. It’s your wager on whether this will accomplish what the bill sponsors say it will accomplish or it will result in the information that you can see all around you about the impacts of gambling.”

Financially, the bill not only accomplished what was promised but has soared over those estimates. Tax receipts have already reached nearly five times the estimated $20 million in the first nine months. After one full year, the state is estimated to collect approximately $130 million, and that’s a long way from the estimated $20 million.