NC has collected $250M from sports betting. Where does the money go?
That we got from a viewer about sports gambling in
North Carolina
They wrote in 7 p.m. at jshu.net and asked now
that online gambling is legal here in North Carolina where
does all that tax revenue go And it is an
important and very good question and I'm glad you asked
because it just so happens that the latest documentary from
the WRAL Doc unit tackles this very
Issue WRL documentary investigator Kristen Severance looked into how bad
gambling addiction can get for some people how much the
industry has grown in North Carolina in just 2 years
and where all that tax money goes
Turns out it's a lot more than lawmakers ever expected
The full documentary airs tomorrow after this newscast but here
is a short clip
The law passed in 2023 but you couldn't bet in
North Carolina until the spring of 2024 right into March
Madness
UNC was in the Sweet 16
Duke was in the Elite Eight
And when NC State made a historic run to the
Final Four I mean the numbers were through the roof
almost immediately and the tax revenue has far exceeded anything
that they thought it would
In 2024 the state projected $8.5 million in revenue
It actually brought in more than $41 million
The next year
Projections were $53 million
The actual number $121 million
Kind of validates what we were saying all along that
this was happening
Uh just the state wasn't having any say so in
it
The money made in taxes goes to several buckets
First fixed amounts come off the top $1 million each
to two statewide youth sports organizations $2 million to the
Department of Health and Human Services for gambling and addiction
treatment
3.9 million split up between the athletic
Departments at 13 UNC colleges
After that the remaining revenue is split by percentage
50% goes to the general fund
That was $54 million last year
You're paying for schools and paying for roads and healthcare
and things of that nature
30% goes to the major events Games and Attractions Fund
$33.4 million last year
It was used to attract the MLS All-Star Game
It's been used to bring NASCAR races
We can start talking things like Super Bowls Olympics could
be on the table and the final 20%
Left over goes again to college athletics so they get
money twice
The athletic department at 13 UNC system schools not UNC
not NC State but everyone else gets a share and
they got about $2 million last year
UNC Pembroke is one of the 13 schools that receives
money from sports betting
We were in a budget crisis to lose $1.1 million
in student fees you know pretty much overnight
Uh that's you can't fix that on a $5 million
budget
You wouldn't be able to sustain 16 sports 450 athletes
70 employees he said
Money from sports betting may have saved some programs
It's been a major blessing is that now a lot
of that money goes to really good programs and good
things in the state
And so the fact that states are getting some money
out of this it kind of feels like blood money
There's no other way to say it
That that last line is kind of important right because
it's a huge part of the rest of the documentary
What is this gambling revenue really costing us Addiction concerns
athlete harassment cheating scandals
The WRL documentary unit explores it all
You can watch The Gamble sports betting in North Carolina
Right after tomorrow's 7 o'clock newscast it starts at 7:30
on WRAL or on the WRAL YouTube channel
Ashley no doubt millions of dollars will be wagered when
the first round of the tournament starts on Thursday
Yeah money will already be on the line tonight right
when NC State tips off against Texas
But the Wolfpack are just one of several North Carolina