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The state of North Carolina launched sports betting on March 11, 2024, meaning we're more than a year into sports wagering in the Tarheel State. As such, this is the first chance we have to look at year-over-year growth for North Carolina. With college basketball dominating headlines over the past month, how did North Carolina do in sports betting in March 2025?

Record dollars wagered in March in North Carolina

We have exactly one month of year-over-year sports betting data to comb over in North Carolina, and it happens to be a big one for the state. North Carolina bettors wagered $685 million this March, according to the North Carolina State Lottery Commission. March of 2024, the first month of legal sports betting in North Carolina, had a handle of $659.3 million, which means bettors wagered 3.9% more this March than last March through sportsbooks, including FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM, Fanatics Sportsbook and Caesars Sportsbook, which all operate in the state. 

Bettors didn't just wager more this month. They also won more than in any month in the state's history. North Carolina bettors won a staggering $643.6 million of the $685 million they wagered in March, or roughly 94%. Unsurprisingly, that's the highest percentage in a single month in the state's year of legal sports betting. At $38.1 million in gross revenue, sportsbooks had their worst month in the state, which was a 42.7% decrease from March 2024. 

College hoops lead the way

Both the Duke Blue Devils and North Carolina Tar Heels made it to the annual college basketball tournament, with Duke advancing all the way to the national semifinals as one of the last four teams in the bracket. North Carolina won a play-in game and advanced into the first round of the tournament as well. Additionally, both schools were represented in the women's tournament, with Duke knocking off North Carolina in the third round before Duke got eliminated in the national quarterfinals. North Carolina State's women's team also made it to the tournament, advancing to the third round. 

North Carolina is a basketball-rich state with plenty of history and a lot of love for its college hoops teams, and bettors, naturally, like to bet on their local teams. Duke was one of the top teams in the country this year and were just a few points away from competing for the championship. The Blue Devils dominated on their way to the national semifinals, blowing teams out and covering the spread in each of their four of their first five postseason games before losing to Houston. 

Additionally, this was a year where the tournament had very few notable upsets and the favorites dominated. The four teams in the national semifinals were all No. 1 seeds, and only two teams seeded No. 6 or lower advanced to the round of 16. In the national quarterfinals, the lowest-remaining seed was a No. 3 seed. 

Sportsbooks may very well come out the winners in April, though, as Duke's loss to Houston came in April. That means bettors who wagered on that game specifically or had futures bets on Duke making or winning the championship saw those slips become worthless after a second-half collapse to Houston.