GeoComply reports hundreds of thousands North Carolina Geolocation transactions
The Tar Heel State was inundated with online sports betting activity during last week’s launch, according to GeoComply, a geolocation compliance company.
Expectations for North Carolina online sports betting were sky high leading up to this last week’s launch and early returns suggest they may be living up to projections.
During the first 48-hours of online sports betting activity, GeoComply reported more than 5.36 million geolocation checks in the state. A geolocation check does not equate a placed bet, but is more closely associated with a user logging onto a sports betting account.
By comparison, GeoComply recorded just a little over 2 million geolocation checks from neighboring Virginia during the same time period. Virginia has been live with online sports betting since January 2021.
Thousands of Registered North Carolina Accounts
Two-days after the state launched, GeoComply reported nearly 370,000 active online sports betting accounts in North Carolina. During the same time, the company recorded just 134,000 active sports betting accounts in Virginia.
Early data has shown a bevy of activity in North Carolina, which should only increase as the state moves into this week’s NCAA March Madness tournaments.
“It’s early, but North Carolina is already delivering on lawmaker expectations when they legalized online sports betting last year. 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,” Lindsay Slader, GeoComply’s SVP of Compliance, said in a press release.
Eight operators are currently live and accepting bets. Here are the licensed sportsbooks that are currently live in the state:
- BetMGM North Carolina Charlotte Motor Speedway
- Caesars Sportsbook North Carolina: Tribal Casino Gaming Enterprise Cherokee
- DraftKings Sportsbook NC: NASCAR
- Fanatics Betting and Gaming: Carolina Hurricanes
- PENN Sports Interactive (ESPN BET North Carolina): Quail Hollow Club (PGA Tour course)
- Underdog Sports: McConnell Golf
As part of the application process, sportsbook operators had to partner with either a state sports franchise, arena, NASCAR track, or PGA Tour course.
University of North Carolina a Popular Bet
Bettors flocked to their sportsbook apps and immediately began placing wagers on North Carolina teams. According to a BetMGM spokesperson, nearly 48% of all bets placed on the March Madness tournament during the first day of sports betting activity were placed on the UNC Tar Heels to win the championship.
Duke did not share the same popularity in-state, as only 4.2% of bets placed through the BetMGM app were placed on the Blue Devils to win the tournament.
The first bet in North Carolina history placed on the BetMGM app was $100 to win $1,800 on UNC at +1800 to win the NCAA tournament.
A Caesars Sportsbook spokesperson reported during the first 20 minutes of the state’s launch a user placed a $500 bet on UNC to win the men’s tournament at +1600 odds.
The operator also reported that UNC was in the top-five most bet teams to win the NCAA championship this week.
After a successful start to the NFL free agency period, bettors were also bullish on the Carolina Panthers through the BetMGM app. More than 8.3% of future bets on the Super Bowl champion were placed on the Panthers. The Steelers were the top bet team at 14.3%, followed by the Eagles at 10.5%.
