North Carolina’s online sportsbooks processed $578.1 million in wagers during May 2026, according to the latest NC State Lottery Commission revenue report. While the monthly figure came in below expectations given the active playoff calendar, the cumulative story is more compelling: NC has now crossed $7 billion in total FY26 handle with one month still to report.
May 2026 at a glance
| Metric | May 2026 |
|---|---|
| Total wagering revenue (handle) | $578,070,325 |
| Paid wagering revenue | $561,188,844 |
| Promo wagering revenue | $16,881,481 |
| Amounts paid as winnings | $510,244,709 |
| Gross wagering revenue (GGR) | $64,318,908 |
| Estimated tax proceeds (18% of GGR) | $11,577,403 |
| Implied operator hold | 11.1% |
Source: NCSLC Sports Betting Revenue Report, FY 2026.
The $7 billion milestone
The May report pushes FY26 cumulative handle to $7,026,234,677 — the first time NC’s fiscal-year total has crossed $7 billion. Through eleven months:
| FY26 YTD (11 months) | Amount |
|---|---|
| Cumulative handle | $7.03 billion |
| Cumulative GGR | $739.2 million |
| Cumulative tax proceeds | $133.1 million |
| Cumulative promo spending | $210.2 million |
With June still to come — Stanley Cup Final, NBA Finals, and the U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2 — FY26 will finish well above $7.5 billion in total handle. The state has already collected more in taxes ($133.1M) than most observers projected for the full fiscal year when the market launched.
Why May was softer than the playoff calendar suggested
At $578.1M, May was the third-lowest month of FY26 — behind only July ($370.4M) and February ($596.1M). That’s a surprise given:
- NBA Conference Finals and Finals ran through late May
- NHL Eastern Conference Final: the Carolina Hurricanes hosted an elimination game on May 29 before advancing to the Stanley Cup Final
- Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Memorial Day weekend
A few factors explain the gap between the sport calendar and the betting volume:
NBA and NHL playoffs are not NFL. The regular season commands more betting volume than the playoffs in both leagues — casual bettors have stronger opinions about weekly matchups than best-of-seven series, where the public often fades uncertain favorites. The NHL in particular skews toward futures and series-price bets rather than per-game moneylines.
Promo spending is down. May’s $16.9M in promotional wagering is the lowest since July 2025 — operators are no longer subsidizing casual bettors with sign-up offers. Lower promo spend translates directly to lower total handle, since free-bet wagering counts toward the total.
The Hurricanes factor cut both ways. Carolina’s deep run created local interest in Canes futures and series prices, but the team’s ECF games did not all fall cleanly within the May reporting window. Game 7 (if it happened) would shift into June’s numbers.
Hold rate saved the GGR
Despite the softer handle, May’s 11.1% hold rate kept GGR nearly identical to April’s — $64.3M vs $64.5M. The NBA playoff slate ran strong for the house: favorites covered at an above-average rate in the second round, and same-game parlay legs on popular Eastern Conference matchups largely lost.
This continues the pattern established across FY26: GGR is more stable than handle suggests because hold rate compensates in either direction. July’s massive handle drop to $370M coincided with a 6.1% hold (bettors won big on baseball); May’s modest handle still produced the same tax yield as April because operators held more per dollar wagered.
FY26 tax record is effectively locked
With $133.1M banked through May and June remaining, the full FY26 tax total will almost certainly exceed last year’s. The state needs only $7M+ from June to set a new fiscal-year record — June 2025 produced well above that threshold, and this June features higher-profile events including a potential Hurricanes Cup Final appearance.
A $145M+ full-year total now looks achievable if June performs in line with the sport calendar.
What June could deliver
| Event | Significance |
|---|---|
| Stanley Cup Final (potentially CAR vs VGK) | If Hurricanes advance, NC-specific Canes betting would be unprecedented for a single-series run |
| NBA Finals | Consistent $15-20M handle event nationally |
| U.S. Open golf, Pinehurst No. 2 | Local golf major; NC bettors show elevated engagement for in-state events |
| Belmont Stakes | Third leg of Triple Crown — lighter betting than Kentucky Derby but still meaningful |
The NCSLC will publish June 2026 data — closing out the full fiscal year — in mid-July.
For current welcome bonuses from all seven NC sportsbooks, see our NC Sportsbook Promos page. For context on November’s GGR record and the full FY26 hold-rate story, read our FY26 fiscal year deep-dive.