North Carolina bets on tax rise; Ontario iGaming monthly wagers near C$9.5 billion; DraftKings launches proprietary prediction markets exchange; Bally’s Intralot wins lottery tech contract for Canada’s OLG; plus the week’s other news from North America.
North Carolina bets on tax rise
North Carolina’s sports betting market has been regulated for just over two years but legislators have already decided to increase the tax rate.
Since launch in March 2024, North Carolina’s sports betting licensees have paid $299 million in tax to May 2026, at a rate of 18 per cent.
From 1 July 2026, the rate will rise by five percentage points to 23 per cent.
GINA forecasts that H2 2026 tax revenue will by $93.2 million with the higher rate in operation.
But the state’s legislators need to be careful that the long-term health of the market is not hurt by the higher tax.
Year-on-year wagering growth has slowed quite quickly in the Tar Heel State and monthly growth has averaged just 6 per cent in 2026 so far.
Ontario
Ontario’s online wagering in May climbed by 17 per cent to C$9.48 billion, the third consecutive month above C$9 billion. Online casino bets jumped by 20 per cent to C$8.37 billion, making up for flat sports betting of C$972 million and a 7 per cent fall in poker stakes to C$134 million. Monthly online gambling revenue improved by 22 per cent to C$413.1 million, including record online casino revenue of C$326.4 million, up by 26 per cent.
South Dakota
South of the border, wagering at South Dakota’s casinos was flat in May at $136.2 million due to lower activity at the tables. Slots had a 1 per cent increase in turnover to $127.8 million but this was cancelled out by a 10 per cent decline in table gaming bets to $7.9 million. Retail sports betting in the casinos declined by 20 per cent to $491,138. Total gambling revenue increased by 2 per cent to $13.2 million, including a 2 per cent rise in slot machine win to $11.9 million.
West Virginia
West Virginia’s wagering on sports and iGaming climbed by 26 per cent to $846.4 million in the four weeks to 30 May. iGaming bets in the period were up by 27 per cent to $816.6 million while sports betting had lesser growth of 3 per cent to $29.8 million. Revenue from sports betting and iGaming improved by 29 per cent to $39.7 million, split $35.4 million from iGaming and $4.3 million from sports betting.
Massachusetts
Massachusetts’ online sports betting brands had a 3 per cent drop in wagers for May to $625.0 million, with the leading brands seeing declines. DraftKings posted a 7 per cent fall to $306.5 million, while FanDuel’s wagering was down by 8 per cent to $158.7 million. Fanatics went against the falling trend and had a 52 per cent jump in wagers to $70.5 million. Gross win from sports betting had a greater fall than wagering at 12 per cent, taking it to $71.6 million.
In the state’s land-based sector, Massachusetts’ three casinos reported $106.4 million in May revenue, which was unchanged on the same month last year. Gaming revenue was up by less than 1 per cent to $105.9 million but retail sports betting fell by 47 per cent to $534,394. Slot machine revenue increased by 3 per cent to $77.5 million, while table gaming revenue slipped by 5 per cent to $28.4 million.
Iowa
Iowa’s 19 land-based casinos reported gaming revenue of $152.1 million in May, the highest total in more than a year, although revenue growth was just 2 per cent, with slot machine revenue rising and table gaming win falling. There were 13,878 slot machines installed and their revenue increased by 2 per cent to $138.4 million. Iowa’s 421 gaming tables saw a small revenue fall of less than 1 per cent to $13.8 million, while Blackjack revenue was $4.8 million and $1.5 million came from Craps.
New Hampshire
Sports betting at the New Hampshire Lottery fell by 1 per cent to $60.9 million in May. Mobile sports betting increased by 1 per cent to $57.0 million but retail betting slipped by 28 per cent to $3.9 million. Gross revenue from sports betting also fell by 1 per cent to $8.0 million, with mobile betting revenue unchanged at $7.4 million and retail revenue 6 per cent lower at $587,298.
Delaware
Delaware reported combined sports and iGaming wagers of $394.8 million in May, which was a record performance for the state. The monthly wagering was up by 40 per cent year-on-year and included a 42 per cent increase in iGaming bets to $376.6 million. Sports betting showed lesser growth of just 4 per cent to $18.2 million. Net revenue from sports and iGaming climbed by 46 per cent to $13.9 million and comprised $12.7 million in iGaming and $1.2 million from sports betting.
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania posted a new record for gambling revenue in the state at $625.5 million for May, up by 4 per cent year-on-year. The record revenue came despite an 11 per cent fall in sports betting to $52.6 million. Most of the growth came from the iGaming sector, where revenue was up by 9 per cent to $254.8 million. There was also growth in land-based gaming, with slots revenue up by 3 per cent to $232.1 million and table gaming win 2 per cent higher at $81.2 million.
Arkansas
Arkansas casino gaming revenue topped $70 million in May, growing by 9 per cent to $72.1 million. The three casinos won $65.1 million in gaming revenue from slots and table games, a rise of 6 per cent. Slot machines were the largest sector on monthly revenue of $59.1 million, while table games won $6.0 million. Sports betting revenue across mobile and retail channels jumped by 48 per cent to $7.0 million, on total wagering of $80.9 million.
Tennessee
Tennessee’s online sports betting market recorded wagering growth of 1 per cent to $446.2 million in May. Adjusted wagering was also up by 1 per cent to $443.0 million but both totals were at their lowest since August 2025. Monthly betting tax paid was up by 2 per cent to $8.2 million.
Nebraska
Nebraska’s five land-based casinos posted 12 per cent growth in gaming revenue for May to $27.1 million. The casinos’ slot machines earned the highest revenue of $23.5 million, followed by table games on $3.0 million. Retail sports betting revenue decreased by 35 per cent to $523,246.
Wyoming
Wyoming’s sports wagers increased by 13 per cent to $16.9 million in May but revenue was lower than the corresponding period last year. DraftKings remained the market leader with a 1 per cent rise in wagering to $7.9 million, although FanDuel closed the gap and had a 39 per cent jump in wagers to $4.4 million. Monthly gross betting revenue fell by 4 per cent to $2.0 million and adjusted revenue was also 4 per cent lower at $1.5 million.
Mississippi
Mississippi’s sports wagers dropped by 23 per cent in May to $17.3 million, the lowest level since July 2025. Basketball betting was down by 19 per cent to $5.5 million, while parlay betting dropped by 27 per cent to $4.4 million and wagers from baseball decreased by 23 per cent to $4.2 million. Monthly adjusted gross win from sports betting fell 43 per cent to $1.9 million, marking the lowest monthly win since March 2025.
Illinois
Back into April, Illinois’ sports wagers dropped by 6 per cent to $1.21 billion, with declines in both the retail and online betting sectors. Online sports betting was 6 per cent lower at $1.18 billion, while the smaller retail betting sector had a 32 per cent decrease to $20.3 million. Adjusted gross revenue (AGR) rose by 19 per cent to $129.0 million, divided $127.2 million from online betting and $1.7 million from retail.
DraftKings has launched its proprietary prediction markets exchange, DKeX, leveraging the technology and CFTC license from its acquisition of Railbird Technologies.
The chief executive of special purpose acquisition company Trident Acquisitions Corp. (TDAC) has been sentenced to prison for defrauding investors.
Novig has appointed Elie Mishory as chief regulatory and legal affairs officer to oversee the expansion of its sports prediction market platform in the United States.
Canadian provincial lottery operator OLG has selected Intralot Canada, the Canadian subsidiary of Bally’s Intralot, as its new lottery technology provider.
Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander (NH-02) has introduced a bipartisan bill to ban stock trading and prediction market betting for senior officials across all three branches of the US government.
Canadian casino operator Gamehost will be delisted from the Toronto Stock Exchange today following its acquisition by Pure Casino Entertainment.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has added Kentucky to the list of states being sued over efforts to enforce state gambling laws on prediction markets.
This week’s games and platform integrations round-up from Gaming Intelligence features Relax Gaming, CreedRoomz, Play’n GO, Pragmatic Play, Playtech’s Origins, Yggdrasil and Evolution’s Big Time Gaming and Nolimit City.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison has filed a memorandum opposing the CFTC’s motion for preliminary injunction against the state’s prediction market statute.
Caesars Entertainment plans to launch three online casino brands in Maine this year in partnership with the Wabanaki Nations.
Soft2Bet’s ToonieBet brand has been unveiled as the exclusive iGaming partner of Canadian Football League club Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
Kalshi has filed a lawsuit against Illinois officials after Governor JB Pritzker signed a measure that would introduce a 15 per cent tax on prediction markets in the state’s $56 billion budget.
Global investment firm CVC has become the first external investor in testing and certification laboratory Gaming Laboratories International (GLI).
Brightstar Lottery has signed a five-year contract extension to deliver advanced retail technology to the Oregon Lottery.
North Carolina has finalized a higher tax rate on sports betting operators, raising the levy five percentage points to 23 per cent ahead of the new fiscal year beginning July 1.
Polymarket has secured a deal to become the official prediction market partner of Germany’s Bundesliga in the United States.
BetConstruct AI is offering its operator partners a pathway into prediction markets through a deal with ADI Predictstreet.
PENN Entertainment has celebrated the grand opening of Hollywood Casino and Hotel Aurora, its new $360 million state-of-the-art casino and hotel in Illinois.
Bragg Gaming Group’s annual general meeting has seen shareholders vote against the re-election of chief executive Matevž Mazij as a director.
The Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority (SIGA) has reported a 10.6 per cent increase in gross gaming revenue to a record $418 million for its fiscal year ended March 31, 2026.
MGM Resorts International and BetMGM have renewed their partnerships with Major League Baseball (MLB).
DAZN has launched its free-to-play prediction market offering in partnership with ADI Predictstreet.
Pollard Banknote has secured approval from the Toronto Stock Exchange to launch a one-year share buyback program.
EveryMatrix is expanding its range of lottery products after establishing a new dedicated Lottery division.