Recent statistics provided by the PGA Tour stated that bettors in North Carolina staked 8% of all golf betting handles since the market opened in March. North Carolina is top five for overall PGA Tour betting. The state is known for the golf craze and the sports betting market is thriving betting on the sport. Among legal betting states, North Carolina currently ranks third in total number of PGA Tour bets and users. New York and Illinois are the two other states that are in the top three along with NC. Additionally, North Carolina supports their state betting market being a catalyst for gold wagering. PGA Tour vice president Scott Warfield had this to say. He’s encouraged by what he’s seen early on in North Carolina with golf betting.

“As good as the state-by-state rollout has been for our sport, we haven’t unlocked what I would call the golf-friendly states,” said Warfield. “If you look at California, Texas, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina, you have many PGA tour events and millions of golf fans.”

The demand for golf wagering continues to grow nationwide

Since North Carolina launched sports betting in March, the state has been a top 20 market for overall sports wagering. The PGA Tour’s market access partner is FanDuel and they’re seeing an incredible demand for golf since launching in March. However, North Carolina has limitations to what they can do. States like New York and Illinois have a significant population edge on a betting market like North Carolina. Data from the PGA Tour states that golf betting has kept pace with overall betting, up 20% year-over-year. North Carolina is not the only state that’s seen a demand in golf betting. According to figures from Colorado, Illinois, Montana, Oregon, and South Dakota, golf betting has increased by closer to 10% from January to May over three years. In 2022, those states collected $94.8 million, $101 million in 2023, and $105 million in 2024. Scott Warfield had this to say about how the PGA Tour betting market can grow outside of North Carolina.

“We’re seeing growth, but it’s not enough,” said Warfield. “We need to be creative in how we think about our media partners and how the broadcasts can help bring opportunities in this space. That is one thing we spend a lot of time thinking about. We have not done a lot of marketing in the past, and in states where our share is increasing, like North Carolina, we need to pour gas on it.”