Online North Carolina sports betting got off to a booming start, according to data released Wednesday afternoon by GeoComply. The technology vendor to several leading gaming operators announced it tracked almost 370,000 accounts over the first 48 hours of sports betting.
The company said in a press release that those accounts generated nearly 5.4 million geolocation checks during the period that started with the official launch at noon on Monday.
“It’s early, but North Carolina is already delivering on lawmaker expectations when they legalized online sports betting last year,” GeoComply Senior Vice President of Compliance Lindsay Slader said in a statement. “The state’s well-structured approach to mobile sports betting safeguards consumers and opens up significant revenue streams. With March Madness around the corner, we are excited to see continued growth.”
GeoComply services include geolocation tracking, technology that allows licensed North Carolina sports betting apps to confirm that an account holder is physically in the state when they try to place a wager. Geolocation checks do not equal attempts to bet on a 1-to-1 basis but are considered a reliable indicator of interest.
The company noted that neighboring Virginia, a state that has had online sports betting for more than three years, saw nearly 2 million geolocation transactions from 134,000 active accounts over the same period.
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Saine Says North Carolina Data Proves Point
GeoComply provided a map showing where the North Carolina sports betting action was taking place. Not surprisingly, the bulk of the wagering took place in and around the state’s three largest metro areas: Charlotte, Raleigh-Durham and Greensboro-Winston-Salem.
“Data provided by GeoComply makes the point that there was a market just waiting for sports wagering to go live,” state Rep. Jason Saine, R-Lincolnton, posted on X Wednesday afternoon. Saine was the primary sponsor of House Bill 347, which lawmakers passed last year to legalize sports wagering statewide.
But not just North Carolina residents are participating. The company found nearly 6,200 accounts were active in South Carolina during the first 48 hours. Palmetto State residents can sign up for accounts, make deposits and withdrawals, and even check odds in their home state. However, geofencing prevents them from placing a wager at home, meaning they will need to cross the state line to make their bets.
Eight operators are currently live in North Carolina: BetMGM North Carolina, bet365, Caesars Sportsbook, DraftKings, ESPN BET, Fanatics, FanDuel and Underdog Sports. A ninth sportsbook, one proposed by The Catawba Nation, has also applied for an online sports betting license.
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Can North Carolina Sports Betting Numbers Go Up?
Given that Monday was a relatively light day on the sports calendar, particularly in terms of North Carolina teams, it’s likely that the traffic and account numbers will increase as the week continues as North Carolina, Duke, Wake Forest and N.C. State play in the ACC Tournament.
North Carolina sports betting traffic is expected to peak next week once the NCAA Tournament pairings are revealed. ESPN BET North Carolina sportsbook is offering the UNC Tar Heels at +1600 on its NCAA Championship futures board and the Duke Blue Devils at +2500 to win it all this year.
March Madness is typically the end of the busy season for sports betting operators. Wagering slows down during the spring and summer months before picking back up when football season begins in September.
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