The gambling media has, for the last several weeks, been shouting about a 5-percentage-point sports betting tax increase in North Carolina. Headlines proclaim: “North Carolina Joins List Of States To Raise Sports Betting Taxes,” or “North Carolina Jacks Up Tax on Online Sportsbooks, Will Bettors Pay the Price?” or “North Carolina Increases Tax Rate on Sports Betting from 18% to 23%.”
Just one problem: The state legislature hasn’t passed any bill that would increase the wagering tax rate.
Per a report from WRAL in Raleigh that is two weeks old, “House budget writer [Donny Lambeth] last week … confirmed that the chambers had agreed to” raise the tax via language in the state’s 2026 budget bill. And the news caught fire.
Even AI believes an increase is already in place. A Google search for “states that have raised sports betting tax” includes this line from Gemini: “North Carolina: Raised the tax on gross sportsbook revenues to 23% (up from 18%).”
Kudos to our peer Robert Linnehan at Sports Betting Dime, who seems to be the only other journalist to remember to put the word “reportedly” in the headline and make clear that the increase is still a theory, not a fait accompli.
NC could follow IL, LA, MD, NJ, and OH
North Carolina lawmakers have not passed a new budget since 2023. The latest budget bills that are publicly available were filed in May or before, with no mention of a wagering tax increase. Lawmakers have until June 30 to pass a new budget.
It’s entirely possible that North Carolina lawmakers will go forward with an increase, joining five other states that have done so in the last three years. The most egregious increases, from an industry perspective, were in Illinois and Ohio. Operators launched in Illinois paying a 15% flat tax, but now pay, on a sliding scale, up to 40%. They also pay a per-wager tax and a city of Chicago tax, all of which combined bring the effective tax rate to more than 50% for the biggest operators.
In Ohio, Gov. Mike DeWine shoved through a doubling of the tax rate — from 10% to 20% — within six months of wagering going live on New Year’s Day 2023. He tried again to double the tax from 20% to 40%, but lawmakers had no appetite for it.
In 2025, lawmakers in Louisiana (from 15% to 21.5%), Maryland (from 15% to 20%), and New Jersey (from 13% to 19.75%) raised rates. Gambling operators made a lot of noise in Illinois and Ohio but seem to have backed off from fighting hard in states making smaller increases.
The Sports Betting Alliance, comprised of bet365, BetMGM, DraftKings, Fanatics Betting & Gaming, and FanDuel, lists North Carolina under its “take action” section, providing interested voters with a template opposing the proposed increase to send to lawmakers. The group, however, has been less vocal than it was in Illinois or Ohio.
Pushback or not, North Carolina lawmakers will ultimately do what they choose. But the fact remains, they haven’t done anything yet.
