N.C. Public Universities Earn $21M From Sports Betting Tax Revenue

When North Carolina legalized sports betting in March, officials in small public athletic departments did not expect the tax revenue to add up to much. While betting companies pay an 18% tax rate to be distributed to public university athletic departments, the affected athletic directors were skeptical.

Much to their surprise, the tax revenue provided more than $1.66 million to each department.

According to Blue Ridge Public Radio (BPR), the 13 universities that benefited from the new sports betting law included

• Appalachian State
• East Carolina
• Elizabeth City State
• Fayetteville State
• North Carolina A&T
• North Carolina Central
• University of North Carolina Asheville
• University of North Carolina Charlotte
• University of North Carolina Greensboro
• University of North Carolina Pembroke
• University of North Carolina Wilmington
• Winston-Salem State

Larger schools including UNC Chapel Hill and N.C. State were left off the provision list as, “both have multiple streams of revenue that smaller institutions don't have access to, like multimillion-dollar media rights contracts.”

The smaller universities have previously funded their athletic departments with student fees, ticket sales and donations. Now, the cumulative $21 million covers expenses that were previously cause for concern, and state officials estimate that the revenue from sports betting in 2025 will lead to an even larger payout for schools in 2026.

Alex Gary, athletic director at Western Carolina University told BPR, “Had it not been for the gaming receipts, we would have had to either cut expenses significantly. Or depend on our university to bail us out. Or continue to ratchet up on student fees. I can't express enough how much help we've gotten just off of taking care of expenses." 

Gary’s sentiments were echoed by Dick Christy, athletic director at UNC Pembroke. “The smaller the school … the smaller the conferences, the less TV games, the less external revenue you have at your fingertips," Christy said. "You sell less tickets. Corporate partnerships aren't worth the same value. You don't get a TV distribution from your conference. There's a lot less revenue streams coming to you, which really puts pressure on an institution."

The universities benefitting from the revenue are required to first spend the money on any deficits in the budget, but after that, there aren’t many guidelines for how the money must be allocated. At Appalachian State, the remaining funds will be used to fund a new indoor practice facility, and at UNC Asheville, the athletic department will use the funds to avoid increasing student fees.