Bettors in North Carolina wagered greater than $666 million on sports activities by the state’s authorized operators, the fifth consecutive month that the state has eclipsed $600 million in paid wagers.
The interval from September to January overlaps with the soccer season. In these 5 months, bettors wagered greater than $3.55 billion in paid wagers.
Sunday’s Tremendous Bowl, usually the most important single sports activities betting day of the season, marked the top of the 2025 season. These numbers aren’t included within the January report. North Carolina was forecast to wager greater than $75 million on the sport.
The quantity wagered in January 2026 was up 7% from the quantity wager in January 2025, based on numbers launched by the North Carolina State Lottery Fee, which oversees sports activities betting within the state.
Sports activities betting launched in March 2024. The quantity wager in paid wagers has exceeded $600 million 9 occasions, together with $700 million twice, in 23 months since.
Recent sports betting scandals in Main League Baseball, the Nationwide Basketball Affiliation and faculty basketball have led to prison prices in opposition to gamers and others, however they don’t appear to have restricted the urge for food for authorized sports activities betting.
Bettors have positioned greater than $12.6 billion in paid wagers plus one other $691 million in promotional bets for the reason that launch of authorized sports activities betting in North Carolina.
The state has collected greater than $250 million in taxes from operators. January’s $14.4 million in taxes marked the fifth consecutive month with greater than $12 million in taxes paid by the operators, who pay an 18% tax on gross wagering income. Operators have made simply in need of $1.4 billion in gross wagering income as calculated by the Lottery Fee.
The cash is distributed to the state’s Division of Well being and Human Providers, two youth sports activities packages, the athletic departments at UNC System colleges (not NC State or North Carolina), a serious occasions fund and the final fund.
The WRAL Documentary Unit is analyzing the impression of legalized sports activities betting over the previous two years, with a documentary set to premiere throughout all WRAL platforms on March 18.
“We have seen elevated tax income from playing clearly,” Kelly Crosbie, a director within the division of substance abuse on the NCDHHS, stated throughout an interview for the WRAL documentary. “We have all seen elevated promoting of each sort, on social media, billboards, radio, TV. We have additionally seen an enormous enhance about folks reaching out for drawback playing sources.”
