

North Carolina Sportsbooks Stay Hot, Reap $63 Million In May
The North Carolina State Lottery Commission reported $63.1 million in gross sports betting revenue for May on Monday as operators extended their blazing start since launching in mid-March.
May’s revenue haul is the lowest of the three months of reporting and 40.1% lower than the $105.3 million posted in April. North Carolina’s eight sportsbooks have already accumulated $234.8 million in gross revenue thanks to an operator-friendly 12.8% hold from $1.83 billion in handle.
May’s hold was slightly below the overall average, but a still-healthy 12% against $525.5 million in handle. That was down 19% from April’s $648.9 million that came in the first full month of betting.
The state was able to levy its 18% tax on $61.8 million in adjusted gross revenue as North Carolina’s coffers saw an inflow of $11.1 million. The Tar Heel State has collected $41.4 million in receipts in the first three months of wagering, with all three months generating a minimum of $11 million.
1 New York $1.978B
2 NORTH CAROLINA $525.5M
3 Maryland $431.5M
4 Maine $39.9M
5 Montana $4.87M
6 TBD
7 TBD
8 TBD
9 TBD
10 TBD#SportsBettingX #GamblingX
— Chris Altruda (@AlTruda73) June 10, 2024
Bettors are still churning through promotional credits and bonuses, evidenced by the $30.9 million worth of handle from such offers. That was down 61.1% from the $79.7 million outlay in April as the overall spend since launch is $313.2 million — 17.1% of total handle. May’s promotional spend represented 5.9% of all wagering.
Operators dominating the first three months of action in North Carolina is similar to how they started in Ohio in the first quarter of 2023. Sportsbooks there had a 15.5% win rate on $2.49 billion worth of wagers, claiming $387.4 million in adjusted gross revenue.
Operators also were aggressive early in the Buckeye State with $423.6 million in promotional spend from January through March, but the falloff among North Carolina’s eight sports betting apps — Ohio had more than double with 19 — was sharper in the third month than the 24.9% dip to $44.4 million reported in Ohio.
The North Carolina State Lottery Commission does not offer sport-specific or operator-specific handle and revenue figures in its monthly reports.