GREENSBORO, N.C. — The NFL Draft started Thursday night.
With sports betting legal in North Carolina, some will use the draft as a chance to win money.
For the last month and a half, sports betting in North Carolina has been pulling in strong numbers.
The North Carolina Lottery Commission says the state wagered nearly 660 million dollars on sports betting within the month of March.
BetCarolina.com analyst Steve Bittenbender said things will slow down now that March Madness is over.
"It was a very successful launch for North Carolina sports betting," said Bittenbender. "I'm not going to expect that we see that level of activity now, probably not until the start of football season, just because typically, in other states, it dies down after the NCAA tournament."
While Bittenbender said betting is expected to drop until the start of the football season, the state is projected to meet its taxable revenue goal of $64.6 Million in its first full year.
He said NFL and college football will likely mean betting will pick back up, but not to the same level as it did for NCAA basketball because there were so many promotional offers.
The NFL draft is anticipated to generate significant interest, especially with the potential for trades and the uncertainty surrounding quarterback prospects like Tar Heels' Drake Maye, among other North Carolina players.
"You have a player like Drake Maye, who we don't know where he's going to go now," said Bittenbender. "There's so much talk now. There are going to be five quarterbacks going probably in the top 12, top 13 picks. Where is he going to land? So I think there's going to be a lot of interest in that."
Also, the Carolina Hurricanes playoff run could contribute to an increase in betting activity.
He said the Canes are the favorite right now in the Stanley Cup playoffs and if they can make that run, then it could be a very successful April.