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North Carolina Changes Sports Betting Tax Laws

Bob Duff
Bob Duff Legal Betting Specialist
Fact checked by:
David Genge
Published 25/06/2026 Add betting.net™ as a preferred source.

The North Carolina Senate has voted to implement changes to the state's sports betting tax laws that will impact bettors and betting sites. Senate Bill 595 (SB 595) tweaks the state tax laws in several areas, including North Carolina's legal and regulated sports betting industry.

If the bill is passed into law, the tax rate on sports betting revenue for North Carolina's sports betting sites will jump from 18% to 23%. The state's sports betting sites will also be required to report to the government any bettors who win $2,000 or more from placing bets on sports. Governor Josh Stein must sign the bill for it to become law.

Raleign skyline, North Carolina

North Carolina puts the onus on the betting sites to catch tax cheats

One of the unique changes in SB 595 is that the state is placing the responsibility for assuring that winning sports bettors are paying taxes in the hands of the state's sports betting site operators.

It's rare for betting sites to issue W-2G tax forms. That generally leaves it up to the individual bettor to be honest about how well they do with their wagering.

This will all change if SB 595 becomes law. The bill calls for the North Carolina Secretary of Revenue to directly access on-demand detailed sports betting information from all of the state's betting platforms. Data that must be supplied includes the identity, Social Security number or tax ID, address, and wagering history of every account holder on each betting site.

It's anticipated that this unique access to player wagering information is going to significantly boost tax compliance within the state. This change could also prove to be a precedent-setting move. Other state legislatures may look upon this plan as a method for increasing accountability within the sports betting industry. It's also a logical step to modernize the entire tax reporting process.

North Carolina's tax collection program for sports betting would be unique

Other states have implemented similar systems for keeping tabs on sports bettors and their wagering.

In New Jersey, betting platforms must maintain full wager-level logs on each player that are available for inspection. Both Pennsylvania and Michigan have laws allowing the Gaming Control Board to access records, including sports betting wagers.

The difference between these programs and the North Carolina proposal is that the state gaming authorities are operating those systems. North Carolina's plan puts the Secretary of Revenue in charge of monitoring all betting tax data.

State lawmakers aren't getting the rate of tax increase they were originally seeking

At the outset, SB 595, a Republican-sponsored bill, sought to see the sports betting tax rate hiked to 50%. Increasing the tax rate is helping fund an aggressive $68 billion spending proposal in the state's upcoming budget.

Even at its final level of 23%, a 5% increase over the current rate, the decision has its critics. The Sports Betting Alliance (SBA) is complaining loudly about the tax hike. It is a lobby group representing sportsbooks FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM, bet365, and Fanatics. They are expressing concern about the impact it will have on sports betting in the state.

"When states raise taxes, the costs get passed down to customers — directly hitting your wallet," the SBA said in a statement. "It punishes NC sports fans who play by the rules and pushes more people toward illegal offshore sites with no consumer protections.”

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