North Carolina handle lowest since March launch; Indiana records another high hold
Total handle for July was $340.4m (£266.6m/€311.4m), down 14.5% from June. It is also the lowest monthly total since North Carolina launched legal online sports betting in March.
July is traditionally a quieter month in the US sports betting calendar and, while the MLB season is underway, North Carolina doesn’t have a team in the league.
There were only three major sporting events taking place in July. Wimbledon from 1-14 July, and the Copa América concluded on 14 July – with matches played at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina – and the Olympics started at the tail end of the month.
Stronger hold grows North Carolina sports betting revenue
During the month players wagered $328m with North Carolina sports betting operators, who handed out a further $12.4m in promotional credits. Players won $295.4m, according to the North Carolina State Lottery Commission, while $2.8m of bets were voided or cancelled.
In states such as Maryland, Indiana and New York, operators have grown revenue as a stronger hold offsets lower handle. This was also the case in North Carolina, where an improved hold of 12.9% resulted in gross wagering revenue of $42.2m, an increase of 4.7% from $40.3m in June.
From the 18% tax on gross revenue, North Carolina generated estimated tax proceeds of $7.6m in July.
How is North Carolina’s sports betting market performing?
July, the fourth full month of regulated betting, marked the start of a new financial year for North Carolina. Since the state launched its market back in March, players have spent a total of $2.57bn.
In terms of gross revenue for the first four and a half months of sports betting, this reached $317.4m.
The launch month of March – when the NBA season was under way and college basketball tournaments were playing out – remains the most successful month to date in North Carolina. The month saw players bet $659.3m, although $202.6m of this was promotional credits.
April was the best month for operators in terms of revenue with a $105.3m total. This is the only month so far where revenue has surpassed the $100m mark.
Indiana operators record 11.1% hold
In Indiana, operators kept their double-digit hold streak alive for a third consecutive month. Operators combined for 11.1% hold, according to the Indiana Gaming Commission’s July revenue report. Handle was down to $261m from $298m in June. Against July 2023, handle was up $58m.
Because of the high hold, operators reported adjusted gaming revenue of $29m, slightly down from June. Sportsbooks paid the state $2.8m in tax revenue. The most bet on sport was baseball, on which bettors laid down $73m in wagers, though parlays and “other” bets accounted for more than $156m of handle.
DraftKings won the state taking $94m in wagers with FanDuel second at $78m.