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Charlie & Debbie

Astonishingly Huge Dollar Amount Wagered In First Week Of North Carolina’s Legalized Sports Betting

Author Charlie & Debbie

The state of North Carolina had some big winners last week.  The University of North Carolina, North Carolian State, and Duke all made the NCAA Tournament’s “Sweet Sixteen.”  And the state itself made $7.7 million in tax revenue from $198 million wagered in the state’s first week of legalized online sports betting.

The North Carolina State Lottery Commission announced some pretty staggering numbers when it comes to the state’s first week of online sports betting.  Total wagered?  $198.1 million.  That breaks down to $42.7 million in gross wagering revenue and almost $8 million in tax revenue.  The numbers from the first day alone are eye-opening.  March 11 (day one) saw $23.9 million wagered with $11 million in gross revenue with $2 million in tax revenue for North Carolina.  I wonder what the numbers would look like if online sports betting had gone online before noon that day!

The understatement of the year when it comes to legal online sports betting in North Carolina comes from Sterl Carpenter, the NC State Lottery Commision’s Executive Director of Gaming Compliance and Sports Betting (quite a title for a business card, yes?).  He tells sportshandle.com, “I think people liked the ability to wager in North Carolina on sports.”  On a similar note, it’s been reported that fish apparently like to swim in water.

On a related online sports betting note, yesterday the NCAA announced it’s pushing for a ban on player prop betting in college athletics.  Maryland and Ohio have already adopted such measures.  I understand the reason for this.  Of all things that can be manipulated by the seedy side of gambling, individual player stats are the easiest.  That being said, I kind of feel like once the toothpaste is out of the tube, it’s hard to put it back.  That being said, North Carolina says it would consider such a measure if the NCAA asks.

Online sports betting in North Carolina is here to stay.  However, what you can and can’t wager on (at least with college athletics) appears to be a more fluid situation.

Gambling In North Carolina? Most People Aren't Addicted

There are certain places you think of when you think of gambling. Vegas, Atlantic City, Reno, but nowhere in North Carolina immediately comes to mind. Yes, we have options like Harrah’s Cherokee Casino and the new Catawba Two Kings Casino in Kings Mountain. Both are popular, but gambling in North Carolina doesn’t have a chokehold on people the way it does in other states.

Last year the gambling industry saw record-breaking profits last year despite the COVID-19 pandemic. And it’s not just casinos, sports betting is also extremely popular. (Personally, my teams give me enough stress I don’t need money riding on it too). As the Kentucky Derby is fast approaching where millions of dollars will be bet, the personal-finance website WalletHub released its report on 2022’s Most Gambling-Addicted States.

WalletHub compared the 50 states across 20 key metrics to create this report. The data set ranges from the presence of illegal gambling operations to lottery sales per capita to the share of adults with gambling disorders.

Gambling Addiction in North Carolina (1=Most Addicted, 25=Avg.):

  • 40th – Casinos per Capita
  • 39th – Gaming Machines per Capita
  • 15th – Gambling-Related Arrests per Capita
  • 4th – iGaming Revenues per Capita

View the full report here

Most Gambling Addicted States According To Wallet Hub:

  • 1. Nevada

    Nevada

    Aerial view of Las Vegas strip in Nevada as seen at night USA

  • 2. South Dakota

  • 3. Montana

  • 4. Mississippi

  • 5. Oklahoma

    Oklahoma

  • 6. Louisiana

  • 7. New Jersey

  • 8. California

  • 9. West Virginia

  • 10. North Dakota

    North Dakota

  • 11. Oregon

  • 12. Pennsylvania

  • 13. Minnesota

  • 14. Illinois

  • 15. Wyoming

    Yellowstone National Park

  • 16. Missouri

  • 17. Massachusetts

  • 18. Colorado

  • 19. Virginia

  • 20. Texas

    Hurricane Harvey Slams Into Texas Gulf Coast

  • 21. Tennessee

  • 22. Iowa

  • 23. Delaware

  • 24. New York

  • 25. New Mexico

    New Mexico

    Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA downtown cityscape and street at twilight.

  • 26. Idaho

  • 27. Kansas

  • 28. South Carolina

  • 29. Rhode Island

  • 30. Ohio

    Ohio

    State of Ohio flags waving in front of the Statehouse in Columbus, OG.

  • 31. Wisconsin

  • 32. Arkansas

  • 33. Connecticut

  • 34. Indiana

  • 35. Georgia

    Georgia

  • 36. Maryland

  • 37. New Hampshire

  • 38. Washington

  • 39. Michigan

  • 40. Arizona

    Arizona

    Ballons in Sedona, Arizona with sunset

  • 41. Alabama

  • 42. Florida

  • 43. Nebraska

  • 44. Kentucky

  • 45. North Carolina

    North Carolina Flag

  • 46. Hawaii

  • 47. Vermont

  • 48. Maine

  • 49. Alaska

  • 50. Utah

    Saint George, Utah

    Sunset Overlook at Saint George / Utah

Charlie Nance is the Afternoon Drive co-host (along with his wife) of "The Charlie and Debbie Show" at WSOC, Country 1037 in Charlotte, North Carolina. The couple have been with the radio station since 2006. Charlie has won the prestigious CMA (Country Music Association) Award for Radio Personality of the Year and has been a finalist for the Country Radio Hall of Fame four times. Prior to his time in Charlotte, Charlie (along with Debbie) spent more than a decade hosting successful morning radio shows in Greenville, SC; Augusta, Ga; and Birmingham, Al. As a content creator for Country 1037, Charlie writes about dream lottery windfalls, sports, restaurants and bars, and travel experiences in North and South Carolina.

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