North Carolina Online Gambling: Top 5 NC Sports Gambling Apps Online in 2026
Although the North Carolina sports betting industry online is only a little over a year old, it has grown significantly and shows potential for further expansion.
In this guide, I’ll share everything you need to know about the betting in the Tar Heel State, the best sportsbooks, promos, and sports market coverage.
The Best Sportsbooks for North Carolina Sports Betting Online
- Bonus Difficulty: Easy
- Min. package: $4.99
- Time Limit: 60 days
- Bonus Difficulty: Easy
- Bonus Difficulty: Easy
- Min. package: $1
- Time Limit: 203 days
- North Carolina Sports Betting Overview
- Best Online Sportsbooks in North Carolina
- Best Betting Promos from Online Sportsbooks in NC
- Online & Retail Betting Sites in North Carolina
- What You Can Legally Wager On in the Tar Heel State
- Timeline of Legalization of Sports Betting in North Carolina
- North Carolina Sports Betting Revenue and Handle
- North Carolina vs. Its Neighbors
- Official Team and Sportsbook Partnerships
- Licensing & Oversight
- Responsible Gaming in NC
- Summing Up Sports Betting in North Carolina
- FAQ: North Carolina Sports Betting
- More Betting States
North Carolina Sports Betting Overview
| Live Since: | March 18, 2021 (for retail) and March 11, 2024 (for mobile) |
| Total Online Books: | 8 |
| Total Retail Books: | 3 |
| Handle & Revenue: | $9.7 billion through Aug. 2025, with $1 billion in sportsbook revenue |
| Sports Betting Tax Rate: | 18% |
| Legal Betting Age: | 21+ |
The March 2021 launch of sports betting in the state put it somewhere around the median timeline for U.S. states to offer the new form of gambling.
But there was a catch - and it was a big one. For the next 16 months, the only way to participate in such gambling was at the Harrah's tribal casinos in Cherokee and Murphy - which happen to be roughly three hours and four hours west of Charlotte, the state's largest city, respectively. In fact, none of the state's 10 most populated cities are located within a reasonable day-trip distance. It's likely that the vast majority of North Carolinians were not even aware of this rather impractical legal sports betting option in the far west corner of the state.
The situation improved somewhat with the opening of the Catawba Two Kings Casino sportsbook in Kings Mountain in September 2022, since that site is a much more manageable 40 minutes or so west of Charlotte. But it would be almost 18 more months before North Carolina moved into the modern era with mobile sports betting being launched.
Best Online Sportsbooks in North Carolina
While North Carolina gaming regulators do not release market share statistics, usual top leaders like FanDuel dominate in every state that does so. The total of eight mobile sportsbooks is below the national average, but the biggest players - also including traditional casino operators like Caesars as well as relative newcomers ESPN and Fanatics - all have set up shop in the state.
Each sportsbook has its own welcome bonus, retail partner, and betting markets to choose from. Below are a couple of popular options that might be worth checking out.
| Sportsbook | Retail partners | Welcome bonus | Popular markets | Link to review |
| Caesars | Harrah's Cherokee Casino Resort and Harrah's Cherokee Valley River Casino & Hotel | The welcome bonus varies by state | Moneylines, point spreads, totals | Caesars Sportsbook review |
| FanDuel | PGA Tour and the Carolina Panthers | Bet $5 and get $300 in bonus bets if your bet wins | Same-game parlays, moneylines, teasers, futures, partial-game odds, prop bets, point spreads, live bets, and over/unders | FanDuel Sportsbook review |
Best Betting Promos from Online Sportsbooks in NC
The biggest promotional offers are fairly standard across the U.S. All the top North Carolina betting sites offer generous bonuses as a marketing strategy to attract new customers. These sites then offer several promotions to retain customers who have signed up for their services.
Per North Carolina sports betting regulations, sportsbooks operating in the state are required to offer fair bonuses that are accurately described in clear language. Some of the top betting promos offered at online sportsbooks in NC include:
- Bet and Get Bonuses
- Second Chance Bets
- First Deposit Bonuses
- Odds Boosts
- VIP/Loyalty Programs
Online & Retail Betting Sites in North Carolina
There are currently eight online sportsbooks and three retail sportsbooks in North Carolina.
Online Sportsbooks and Official Launch Dates
- FanDuel - March 11, 2024
- DraftKings - March 11, 2024
- BetMGM - March 11, 2024
- Caesars - March 11, 2024
- Bet365 - March 11, 2024
- Fanatics - March 11, 2024
- ESPN Bet - March 11, 2024
- Underdog - March 11, 2024
Retail Sportsbooks and Official Launch Dates
- Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort (Cherokee) - March 17, 2021
- Harrah’s Cherokee Valley River Casino & Hotel (Murphy) - March 17, 2021
- Catawba Two Kings Casino (Kings Mountain) - Sept. 8, 2022
What You Can Legally Wager On in the Tar Heel State
Unlike many other states, North Carolina's gambling laws allow for betting on in-state university sporting events and on individual college prop betting as well. One limitation, though, is no betting on The Academy Awards, Emmys, and other awards programs.
Residents of North Carolina can bet on just about every sport imaginable, with few if any restrictions.
Official Sports Teams
The NFL's Carolina Panthers, the NBA's Charlotte Hornets, and the NHL's Carolina Hurricanes are the state's major professional sports teams.
But this is one state where the college programs collectively overshadow the professional teams.
That is particularly true of the University of North Carolina and Duke, historically two of the most iconic brands in all of college basketball. Both have Division I football programs as well, as do North Carolina State, Charlotte, East Carolina, Appalachian State, and Wake Forest.
They are joined in having D-1 basketball programs in the state by Campbell, Davidson, Elon, Gardner-Webb, High Point, North Carolina A & T, Queens, UNC-Asheville, UNC-Greensboro, UNC-Wilmington, and Western Carolina.
Timeline of Legalization of Sports Betting in North Carolina
North Carolina was the only state in the U.S. that launched mobile sports betting in 2024, as almost all states at that point either had legalized the gambling or have no intention of doing so.
- July 26, 2019 - Gov. Roy Cooper signed a sports betting bill into law - but only on-site at the state's tribal casinos.
- March 17, 2021 - The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians launched sportsbooks at its casinos in Cherokee and in Murphy.
- April 8, 2021 - A state Senate bill that would allow for up to a dozen mobile sportsbook operators in the state was introduced, but it stalled.
- June 22, 2022 - A highly-charged dispute among the state's House lawmakers leads to a 51-50 vote that killed the chance of mobile sportsbooks for that year.
- Sept. 8, 2022 - The Catawba Two Kings Casino in Kings Mountain, the state's other tribal casino, opened its sportsbook for business.
- June 14, 2023 - A second extensive effort to add a mobile sports betting option for residents finally passed, with Gov. Cooper signing it into law on this date.
- March 11, 2024 - All eight of the state's current online sportsbooks launched simultaneously.
- April 8, 2025 - A bill was introduced in the House that would ban individual college athlete prop betting in the state, but the effort failed in 2024 and has not gotten much momentum in 2025, either.
- April 15, 2025 - The state Senate's formal budget proposal included a provision to double the state's sportsbook tax rate from 18% to 36%. The bill has full Senate approval, but the House has been resistant, leading to a proposed Oct. 1, 2025 enactment goal not being met.
The rollout of mobile sportsbooks almost six years after the U.S. Supreme Court opened the door for such gambling in 2018 has led to mixed results. The state lost tens if not hundreds of millions in sports betting tax revenue due to the long delay, but it also avoided the experience of other states that had a half-dozen or more sportsbooks enter and leave a state from 2018-2024.
That was an inconvenience for many gamblers in those states. But North Carolina residents have had the same eight mobile options they started with in 2024.
North Carolina Sports Betting Revenue and Handle
North Carolina, the 9th-largest state by population, is 17th in all-time sports betting handle with $9.7 billion having been wagered in the state heading into the lucrative fall 2025 professional and college football seasons. But with 2025 about to be the first full year of mobile sports betting in the state, look for North Carolina to improve its ranking in the next year or two.
| Total Handle to Date: | North Carolina has taken in $9.7 billion in betting handle through August 2025 - including $5.4 billion in wagers in just under 10 months in 2024. |
| Tax Revenue to Date: | Also through Aug. 2025, North Carolina has collected $171.5 million in taxes from its eight mobile sportsbooks. |
| Breakdown of Online vs. Retail Share | With only three retail sportsbooks in the state - two of which are located in a sparsely-located far western area of the state - retail's betting handle would not even qualify as a rounding error in the state's total amount wagered each month. |
| YoY Growth Rates: | The state's sports betting handle was up almost 20% in September 2025 vs. September 2024, and double-digit growth from other months has been routine in the state. |
| Handle Milestones | A record $686.1 million was wagered in North Carolina in September 2025, and with the marketplace nowhere near yet achieving maturity, the numbers will only go up. |
North Carolina vs. Its Neighbors
Just like Texas sports betting activities aren’t yet legal, Georgia and South Carolina don’t allow sports betting. Let’s look at some key markers of the betting industries in Tennessee and Virginia.
| State | Tax Rate | Operator Count | Handle | 2026 revenue |
| Tennessee | 1.85%(based on handle) | 12 | $70,101,370,611 | $7,032,674,334 |
| Virginia | 15% | ~12 | $477,800,000 | $60,700,000 |
Official Team and Sportsbook Partnerships
There are a few sportsbook partnerships within the state, including the Carolina Panthers with FanDuel, Carolina Hurricanes with Fanatics, and the Carolina Panthers with Catawba Two Kings Casino (Kings Mountain).
Licensing & Oversight
The North Carolina State Lottery Commission was founded in 2005 as that form of gambling belatedly was introduced in the state. The first of three North Carolina casinos opened in 1997 as part of a tribal compact between the state and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. The state has no commercial casinos.
The commission's stated goal is to adopt and enforce gaming regulations to ensure integrity and public confidence in gaming; to raise revenue for the state; and to empower and protect players.
Responsible Gaming in NC
Each of the eight mobile sportsbook operators in the state offer most or all of these tools:
- daily, weekly, or monthly deposit limits;
- wagering limits within a certain time frame;
- daily time limits for play;
- "cooling off period" options ranging from 24 hours to several weeks or more, where gamblers can take a break from their activity;
- for more concerned gamblers, an option to exclude themselves from a sportsbook app indefinitely.
- reality checks - that is, periodic pop-up notifications to remind players how long they have been actively gambling - and how much money they may have lost.
The North Carolina Problem Gambling Program offers a Self-Assessment tool, asking for responses to questions such as whether you have found yourself betting increasingly large amounts; gambling as a way try to avoid dealing with personal problems; and whether your gambling has led to problems with your family, friends, work colleagues, or with your academic studies.
The state Problem Gambling Helpline is 1-877-718-5543.
Discover must-see sportsbooks
- Bonus Difficulty: Easy
- Min. package: $4.99
- Time Limit: 60 days
- Bonus Difficulty: Easy
- Bonus Difficulty: Easy
- Min. package: $1
- Time Limit: 203 days
Summing Up Sports Betting in North Carolina
The state betting regulations are broad enough to satisfy the interests of most gamblers.
Top Reasons to Bet in North Carolina
- College Basketball. Duke was ranked 6th and North Carolina ranked 25th (one spot ahead of North Carolina State) in The Associated Press preseason 2025-26 men's basketball poll. That's no surprise. North Carolina entered the season having won six championships - including in 2005, 2009, and 2017 - and has a record 21 Final Four appearances and 132 tournament games won. Duke, meanwhile, has won five national titles - including in 2001, 2010, and 2015 - and also is in the top 5 in numerous all-time historical categories.
- The state's women's basketball teams also are big players on the national stage, as the AP preseason women's poll listed Duke at No. 7, North Carolina State at No. 9, and North Carolina at No. 11. That is familiar territory for these programs as well.
- The NHL's Carolina Hurricanes advanced to at least the second round of the playoffs for a seventh consecutive time in 2024-25, and fans over 30 can fondly recall the Hurricanes' 2005-2006 Stanley Cup championship.
Top Reasons Not to Bet in North Carolina
- Two of the state's professional sports teams have a dismal history of results. The NFL's Panthers have only reached the postseason eight times in their first 29 seasons, and 2024 marked a seventh consecutive losing season. That does include two Super Bowl appearances - but they lost both. The NBA's Hornets - a 2014 expansion team initially known as the Bobcats - have only three postseason appearances, and lost in the first round each time.
- Those fond of offbeat wagers such as "Who will be chosen first in the NFL draft?" or "Who will win Best Picture at The Oscars?" will have to travel elsewhere to make those bets legally.
Final Thoughts on Sports Betting in North Carolina
The odd sports betting landscape from 2021-24 is now in the rear view mirror, and North Carolina is now in full form.
But because this gambling is relatively new, the long-lasting terms are not yet finalized. For instance, discussion is continuing in the North Carolina statehouse about doubling the sports betting tax rate from a typical 18% to a relatively high 36%. There are still several open licenses for new sportsbooks, but even just the consideration of such a tax hike makes it more likely to scare off potentially new sportsbook options for North Carolina gamblers.
The discussion about banning individual college player prop bets in the state is in line with a national trend, and even residents who enjoy the occasional such prop bet presumably would understand the rationale for why there is increasing resistance to allowing that wagering.
More important than either of the issues is keeping betting on in-state school athletic events legal. The level of passion of Duke and North Carolina basketball fans is so intense that banning that option would drive extensive action to the illegal, offshore gambling sites - even more so than would be the case in most other states.
Top sports betting sites of choice
- Bonus Difficulty: Easy
- Min. package: $4.99
- Time Limit: 60 days
- Bonus Difficulty: Easy
- Bonus Difficulty: Easy
- Min. package: $1
- Time Limit: 203 days
FAQ: North Carolina Sports Betting
What is the betting tax rate in North Carolina?
At the time of writing, the tax rate in North Carolina is 18%. However, there’s a possibility that it will be increased in the future.
What are the best sites for online sports betting in North Carolina?
FanDuel and Caesars are some of the leading online sports betting sites to explore in the state.
Can I bet on college sports in North Carolina?
At the moment, you can. However, a bill that seeks to restrict prop bets on college athletes has been passed.
Who can explore online sports bets in North Carolina?
Anyone who is at least 21 years old and is within the state’s borders can place online sports bets in NC.
Where is sports betting legal in North Carolina?
You can place sports bets in all regions of the state. There are currently eight online sportsbooks and three retail sportsbooks in the state.
