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
Running September Top 10 #SportsBetting handles by state:
1 NORTH CAROLINA ~$575.4M
2 Washington DC $58.09M
3 Maine $51.82M
4 West Virginia $46.39M
5 Delaware $23.24M
6 Montana $6.78M
7 TBD
8 TBD
9 TBD
10 TBD#SportsBettingX#GamblingX— Chris Altruda (@AlTruda73) October 9, 2024
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.
