Online sports betting proved to be big business the first week it became legal in North Carolina. According to a Sports Betting Report released Wednesday by the North Carolina State Lottery Commission, over $198 million was wagered by North Carolinians, while payouts amounted to $141.5 million.
A further breakdown revealed that almost $24 million was wagered on March 11, the first day online sports betting became legal in the state, with a little over $11 million being paid out.
The ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament, which began March 12, and NCAA March Madness had a large impact on bets.
Reports say about $600 million in total wagers are expected for the first month of legal online betting.
BetCarolina projects that over $6.4 billion is expected to be wagered by residents this year on sports betting.
Meanwhile, NCAA President Charlie Baker took to X Wednesday, urging lawmakers in states with sports betting to stop proposition or prop betting on college athletes.
“Sports betting issues are on the rise across the country with prop bets continuing to threaten the integrity of competition and leading to student-athletes and professional athletes getting harassed. The NCAA has been working with states to deal with these threats, and many are responding by banning college prop bets. This week, we will be contacting officials across the country in states that still allow these bets and ask them to join Ohio, Vermont, Maryland, and many others and remove college prop bets from all betting markets.”
Prop bets are betting markets beyond the standard spreads, moneylines, and totals. Prop bets focus on segmented parts of a game, such as individual team or player performances, as well as external occurrences and happenings during an event.
Baker said the NCAA is drawing the line on sports betting to protect student-athletes and protect the integrity of the game. He said issues across the country over the last several days show more work to be done.
Sen. Jim Perry, R-Lenoir, an advocate for sports betting, posted in response on X, “It would be more productive to introduce legislation banning the NCAA.”
“Many North Carolinians bet on sports today, and keeping it illegal in parts of North Carolina unfairly criminalizes an activity that is legal in most other states,” said Perry in February 2023 when legislators were considering legalizing sports betting. “Recent studies indicate sports betting would provide over $50 million for important state programs. I don’t bet on sports, and that was my decision to make. If an adult enjoys doing so, that should be their choice.”