North Carolina Senator Jim Burgin has confirmed plans for the state to increase its tax rate on sports betting revenue from 18% to 23%, projected to generate an additional $37m in tax revenue.
Speaking with local reporters, North Carolina House Speaker Destin Hall shared that lawmakers “want to be on the average of what other states are doing on a lot of these rates,” despite previously showing hesitance to “tweak too much a program that’s worked pretty well.”
The new rate places North Carolina ahead of states such as New Jersey, Ohio and Massachusetts, and is expected to be finalized prior to the government’s new fiscal year beginning on July 1.
Some legislators looked to implement a rate as high as 30%, while Burgin sought a rate of 50%, which would have rivaled that of states such as New York, New Hampshire and Rhode Island.
While members of the Sports Betting Alliance had previously stated that a tax hike in North Carolina would only force customers to “pay the price,” the state could have potentially collected an additional $170m in tax revenue during fiscal year 2025 under the new rate.
New Jersey currently taxes sports betting operators at a 19.75% rate, while Massachusetts and Ohio both implement a 20% rate on revenue generated each month.
In February, North Carolina operators managed to produce close to $58.1m of revenue for an increase of 4.3%, as handle grew 9.7% to $596.1m. Operators currently conducting business in North Carolina submitted $10.5m in tax proceeds for February 2026.
Following Underdog Fantasy's exit from the state in December, North Carolina now hosts seven licensed operators, including FanDuel, DraftKings, Fanatics, Caesars Sportsbook, BetMGM, bet365 and theScore Bet.
Josh Stein, the Governor of North Carolina, spoke at the latest North Carolina Strong Update to address the threat posed by prediction markets in the state and signed Executive Order No. 37 in May 2026
