April was the first full month of legal sports betting in North Carolina. The market opened on 11 March, with FanDuel, Caesars Entertainment, DraftKings, Fanatics, Bet365, BetMGM and ESPN Bet among those launching.

Statewide handle in April amounted to $648.9m, down 1.6% from $659.6m in the opening month. However, March’s total included $202.6m in promotional bets, whereas in April, this stood at $79.7m.

When discounting promotional bets, total player spend on betting hit $569.3m, an increase of 24.7% from March.

In terms of gross wagering revenue, the April total is some way clear of $66.5m in the first month of regulation. This is mainly down to lower promotional wagers in the most recent month.

Players won $538.4m from sports betting in April, while operators voided or cancelled $5.3m worth of wagers.

Looking at the first six weeks of regulated activity in North Carolina, total handle, including promotional bets, was $1.31bn. Of this, $282.3m were promotional wagers, with players actually spending $1.03bn.

As for revenue, this amounted to $171.7m for the same period. Players won $1.13bn from betting, while operators voided some $7.3m in wagers.

Flutter claims “win” in North Carolina despite costs

Looking at how operators have started in North Carolina, Paul Edgecliffe-Johnson, CFO of Flutter, said the company’s FanDuel business “won” in the state in the opening period.

The North Carolina State Lottery Commission, which publishes monthly figures for the market, does not disclose information on each operator. However, speaking in a post-Q1 earnings call this month, Edgecliffe-Johnson suggested FanDuel has had a strong start in the state.

Group Q1 revenue was up 16.4% year-on-year at Flutter to $3.40bn. However, Flutter also suffered a significant net loss of $375m, attributed to increased expenses and negative foreign currency translation.

Edgecliffe-Johnson linked the increased cost to an investment in North Carolina, where FanDuel launched in March. Nonetheless, he said the risen cost of sales was in line with what the group was expecting.

“We’ve won the state, we’ve signed up one in 20 adults, but obviously it comes with a cost,” he said. “Where there’s more business, that’s where you have the most promotional intensity.”