Sports betting is off to a big start in North Carolina.

Bettors in North Carolina wagered more than $659 million on sports in March and were paid out more than $590 million. The North Carolina State Lottery Commission released the figures Tuesday.

Bettors bet $456 million in paid wagers and another $202 million in promotional wagers from the March 11 start date through the end of the month. The gross wagering revenue for operators was $66.4 million.

Operators will pay an 18% tax on that figure, meaning North Carolina will collect nearly $12 million from the first weeks of sports betting.

The commission did not release a breakdown of which operators took in the most money and the commission does not plan to release that data.

In Virginia, which has had mobile sports betting since 2021, bettors wagered more than $540 million through mobile operators in February. The Super Bowl was played on Feb. 11 this year.

“It’s going to be a bigger revenue source than maybe even I imagined,” said state Rep. Jason Saine, R-Lincoln County, a budget writer and the top sponsor of legislation to legalize mobile sports betting.

The commission previously announced that bettors in North Carolina wagered $198 million in the first week that sports betting was live in the state, boosted by promotional or bonus bets that were plentiful among operators at the outset.

Online sports betting launched statewide March 11 at noon, one day before the ACC men’s basketball tournament began, with eight operators licensed to take bets.

A recent WRAL News poll found that the majority of adults in the state never plan to bet on sports.

The tax revenue will be distributed to various organizations in the state, including $2 million to the Department of Health and Human Services for gambling addiction education and treatment programs, $1 million to North Carolina Amateur Sports, $1 million to the North Carolina Youth Outdoor Engagement Commission and up to $300,000 to the athletic departments at 13 state universities.

After the initial distributions, 20% of the remaining revenue will go to those athletic departments, 30% to the North Carolina Major Events, Games, and Attractions Fund and 50% to the state’s general fund.

BY THE NUMBERS

Paid wagering revenue (amount of wagers placed by players in North Carolina): $456,702,632

Promo wagering revenue (amount of promotional funds used by players in North Carolina): $202,605,909

Total wagering revenue (amount of paid wagers and promotional wagers made on mobile sports wagering in North Carolina): $659,308,541

Canceled/void wagers: $2,062,025

Amounts paid as winnings (amount of winnings paid out to players in North Carolina): $590,750,303

Gross wagering revenue (the total of amounts received by an interactive sports wagering operator from sports wagers as authorized under state law, less the amounts paid as winnings before any deductions for expenses, fees, or taxes): $66,496,213

Source: wral.com