North Carolina Sportsbooks Pound Public for $70 Million in September

The North Carolina State Lottery Commission reported $70.1 million in gross sports betting revenue for September on Wednesday as operators notched their sixth double-digit hold in seven months of wagering in the Tar Heel State.

September's hold of 12.2% against the $575.4 million handle was up nearly 3.1 percentage points from August and marked the fourth time it was above 12% since the state launched in March. The year-to-date hold is just shy of 12% as the eight sportsbooks have already combined for $421.2 million in winnings.

Revenue more than doubled from August with a 107.6% increase, a byproduct of handle surging 55.3% month over month. It was also the highest haul for operators since a record $105 million in April. North Carolina bettors have surpassed $500 million handle four times and September marked the most action generated since $648.9 million was wagered in April.

The state claimed $12.6 million in tax revenue from operators, lifting the year-to-date total to $75.8 million.

Football Season Brings Promotional Play into Focus

The start of the NFL and college football seasons meant mobile sportsbooks dipped into their war chests to attract bettors with promotional offers. The total outlay of $37 million was up 181.5% from August and represented 6.4% of the total handle. That was the third-highest percentage of promotional play in relation to handle and the highest since 12.3% of wagers came via credits and bonuses in February.

Operators have spent $392.2 million in promotional offers through the first seven months of business, roughly $1 of every $9 in handle thus far. The September spend by North Carolina mobile sportsbooks lagged behind the last two larger-market states to enter the marketplace: Kentucky and Ohio. Kentucky totaled a $99.8 million outlay in September and October that included $27.3 million in the final three days last September, and Ohio counterparts lavished $52.5 million in bonuses and credits in its first September of action last year.

The North Carolina State Lottery Commission does not publish handle and revenue figures by operator.

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