March Madness made for a big sports betting month in North Carolina.
Legal online sports betting in North Carolina jumped more than 6% year-over-year in March with bettors wagering more than $726 million last month.
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College basketball took center stage in March with North Carolina and Duke meeting in the regular-season finale, the ACC Tournament in Charlotte and the first rounds of the NCAA Tournament. Major League Baseball also started in March.
In March 2025, bettors wagered $685 million. In March 2024, when legal sports betting launched mid-month, bettors wagered $659 million, boosted by more than $202 million in free and promotional wagers.
North Carolina bettors have wagered $14.7 billion in total wagers, including paid and promotional bets, and have been paid $13 billion in winnings.
The state collected an estimated $13.6 million in taxes. North Carolina has collected more than $275 million in taxes from legal sports wagering since the March 2024 launch.
WRAL’s newest documentary — The Gamble: Sports Betting in North Carolina — examined, through interviews with lawmakers, researchers, former professional athletes and individuals who have struggled with addiction, the broader question facing states across the country: whether the financial benefits of legalized sports betting outweigh the social costs.
