GeoComply is providing evidence of North Carolina’s burgeoning sports betting market.
The geolocation solutions provider conducted over 5.3 million geolocation checks from nearly 370,000 sportsbook accounts since the Tar Heel State launched online sports betting statewide on March 11. North Carolina went live with eight online sportsbooks.
“It’s early, but North Carolina is already delivering on lawmaker expectations when they legalized online sports betting last year,” said GeoComply SVP of Compliance Lindsay Slader. “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.”
North Carolina is already emerging as a competitor to neighboring Virginia’s online sports betting market, which has been active since January 2021. Since March 11, Virginia has seen just over 2 million geolocation checks from 134,000 accounts, per GeoComply.
The Tar Heel State is drawing interest from South Carolina residents who have looked to their northern neighbor to place wagers. Since Monday, GeoComply has recorded 6,175 accounts in South Carolina that have tried to access North Carolina’s sportsbooks.
Big opportunity in March for North Carolina
The number of sports bettors in the Tar Heel State could grow with March Madness.
The men’s tournament, which starts on March 19, could result in an 87% uptick in betting across America, according to research by Optimove. March Madness has been considered a major catalyst to engaging first-time bettors, who are more likely to wager on the tournament’s first or second rounds compared to the Sweet Sixteen and other stages.
North Carolinians will have interest with Duke, UNC, and other state teams in the mix.
