North Carolina State Lottery Commission has published numbers for handles and revenues for May 2024. Numbers are down compared to the previous month, but industry experts believe that that was an expected outcome due to the conclusion of several big events. Handles reached $525 million, down by $123 million from April 2024.
Experts have negated a decline in its popularity, saying that numbers are down only to reflect how events have concluded in recent days. The coming months could decline since two major events are approaching their final lap. These are the NBA Finals and the Stanley Cup Finals. Once done, it will only be baseball carrying the flag of online sports betting.
Paid Handle came to $494 million. The report stated that $202 million was utilized by bettors in March and $80 million in April. The promo total is a drop with no impact on the adoption of online sports betting.
North Carolina welcomed online sports betting in mid-March this year. Residents of Tar Heel State have only been quick to make their way onto the platform. The report issued by the Commission reflects this sentiment, along with a decrease in the use of sports betting promos that target new customers. The industry’s total handle now comes to $1.8 billion, and paid handles have contributed more than $1.5 billion.
June and July could see more drops since no major event is lined up for these months. A pick is expected in the last days of August. That is when betting windows for NFL and college football will open. North Carolina is known to enjoy these sports, so a surge is expected. Many best online sports betting sites in the US have taken note of this account. While their strategies to survive these months are not yet public, it is safe to assume they will eventually innovate to keep up the numbers.
North Carolina is expected to collect $11 million in taxes at 18% of the gross wagering revenue of $63 million. Wagering has come down since March 2024. Numbers for that month were $659.3 million, followed by $648.9 million in April. Wagers for the first three months come to approximately $1.8 billion with $1.5 billion in winnings.
Numbers might have come down, but the adoption and interest among residents are barely at their peak. Current activities could indicate much more from their side once betting windows open in late August this year. The availability of online sports betting has done one thing well – it has kept tax collection within the state, something that could otherwise have gone to neighboring states.
Moving forward, it remains to be seen how low the numbers go in June and July when major sports competitions will be unavailable for betting.
