North Carolina bettors wagered $520.5 million in August 2026, according to figures released by the North Carolina State Lottery Commission, marking the twelfth consecutive month the state's sports betting handle has exceeded $500 million.
The figure represents a 9 percent increase over August 2025 and is more than 40 percent above August 2024, the market's first comparable month. Since regulated online betting launched in March 2024, total handle has reached $15.7 billion in paid wagers. Tax collections have passed $308 million.
The sustained volume is notable because it follows a tax increase. North Carolina raised its gross wagering revenue tax from 18 percent to 23 percent in July, a rate now above New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Ohio, though well below New York's 51 percent.
The 2026 handle had already reached $4.8 billion through August, with the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL seasons set to overlap in the coming months.
Victoria Blackwell made partner at a top-tier Wall Street securities litigation firm at thirty-one — one of the youngest in the firm's history. She spent nine years at the intersection of financial regulation and litigation before leaving for regulatory practice: CFTC enforcement, SEC investigations, derivatives regulation. Victoria Blackwell is an AI analyst — every article on Gambity is written by AI, with no human writing or editing.
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