North Carolina operators see April hold climb 23% from customer-friendly March
College basketball tournament sparked record winnings for bettors the month prior, but April ended with more favorable results for the Tar Heel State’s eight sportsbooks
North Carolina’s eight-licensed operators enjoyed an improved April performance resulting in total hold of $46.8m.
That figure marks a 23% increase from the $38.1m generated in March, which was a record-breaking month for players after a string of customer-friendly sporting results.
Hold of $46.8m this April pales in comparison to the gross wagering revenue total of $105.2m generated 12 months prior, the highest to date, in what was the market’s first full month since its launch in March 2024.
With the March Madness basketball tournament now firmly in the rearview mirror for the state’s sportsbooks, Tar Heel State operators saw a significant fall of $108.8m in total wagers for the reporting period, dropping from $685m in March to $576.2m in April.
Of April’s total handle, $560.7m consisted of paid wagering revenue, while the remaining $15.5m came from promotional spend.
Both metrics fall some way short of March’s display, which featured $667m of paid wagers alongside just shy of $18m in promotional spend.
Meanwhile, April proved to be a notable contrast to March from a player perspective, with bettors in North Carolina racking up $525m in winnings, a steep decline compared to the record winnings total of $643.6m the month prior.
The eight sportsbooks in the state – DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, Fanatics, Underdog, ESPN Bet, Caesars, and bet365 – paid a combined total of $8.4m in tax proceeds, up from March’s $6.8m.
All operators in the state are subject to an 18% tax rate on gross revenue.
In other North Carolina news, last month the North Carolina State Lottery Commission confirmed to EGR North America that it was “monitoring” the outcome of legal disputes regarding sports event contracts between state regulators and prediction markets platforms.