The 8 Live North Carolina Sportsbook Apps & Promos, Ranked by Someone Who Uses Them

Eight North Carolina sportsbook apps went live on Day 1. They're eight of the biggest players in the space, controlling almost the entire U.S. market, and they're all worth using for different reasons.

But as a bettor (regrettably), New Jersey resident and someone who's been writing about gambling products for ~6 years, I certainly have my favorites among the eight apps. There's lots of coverage of North Carolina's sports betting launch across the Internet — most of the writers have never actually used these sportsbooks, and it becomes quickly apparent if you have.

There's a clear Tier 1 among the NC sportsbooks for me from a product perspective — bet365, DraftKings and FanDuel, in that order. The rest are grouped in Tier 2, each with some flaws and some distinguishing features. Underdog is still a "To Be Determined" since it just launched in North Carolina on Monday and I've never used their sportsbook (though their fantasy football and pick'em products are excellent).

Let's dive into my rankings of all eight sportsbooks in North Carolina. If you're signed up and trying to use your bonuses, check out my guide to the most effective ways to use your NC betting welcome offers and promos.

NC Sportsbook Rankings

1. bet365

• Promo Code: TOPACTION
• Offer: Either bet $5, get $200 bonus bets or $1,000 first bet safety net
• Total max value: $200 bonus bets or $450* cash

bet365 tops my list of sportsbook products. While other European providers expected to walk into the U.S. and dominate with subpar and similar apps, bet365 has built out its same game parlay features, its pricing models, and overall product far better anyone besides DraftKings and FanDuel.

Simple things like how bets are laid out, and how the same game parlay product comes together really sets it apart. And because it has 2+ decades of international experience, its offerings for sports like soccer (particularly in its soccer SGPs) and Formula 1 are far beyind any of the domestic U.S. books.

bet365 NC bonus code TOPACTION gives you a choice of two offers: $200 in bonus bets or a $1,000 first bet safety net. The promo code is the same; you'll pick your offer from a landing page after you complete the registration process.

1. Bet $5, get $200 in bonus bets: Just make any $5+ wager at odds of -500 or longer (meaning -250 or -110 or +200 are OK but -550 is not) and you'll get $200 in bonus bets. They expire in seven days.
2. $1,000 first bet safety net: If your first bet loses, you'll be refunded in bonus bets equal to whatever you lost, up to $1,000. We estimate this to be worth about $450 in cash over time, though it can be worth much more or much less depending on how your first bet goes.

2. DraftKings Sportsbook

• Promo Code: Use module below
• Live offer: Bet $5, get $250
• Total max value: $250 in bonus bets

DraftKings is a market leader in the U.S. for a reason, and in my opinion, offers the smoothest app of any in the U.S. market. It's easy to find what you want, it's not too buggy, and the entire navigational experience is delightful.

DK uses what I call a "two-tiered menu," meaning you can navigate a specific bet type for a single game, or for the entire slate. If you want to see every player's triple-double odds in the NBA that night, it's all in one screen. Then you can click into a specific game to see only the markets for that game. It sounds like a small thing, but DraftKings has found a way to sort and display its odds cleanly and simply, at least relative to other books.

DraftKings North Carolina promo gives new users $250 in bonus bets after a $5 wager.

3. FanDuel Sportsbook

• Promo Code: Use module below
• Offer: Bet $5, get $250
• Total max value: $250 bonus bets

I'm partial to DraftKings over FanDuel, but it might just be because of the sports I bet. I know many people like FanDuel for betting NBA props and same game parlays; I bet a lot of golf, so there's more available at DraftKings and bet365. FanDuel has probably been the most innovative book in the U.S. — it invented the same game parlay, popularized NBA first baskets, runs great boosts for existing users, and more.

What FanDuel also understands is 1) it makes sense to let people bet, and let them parlay whatever the hell they want and 2) it pays to offer good pricing on things that are probably going to lose anyway. Like futures and longshot parlays.

Take this example from Data Golf's odds comparison screen — many of the biggest edges on the board against their projections come at FanDuel.

FanDuel is basically saying "hey, come bet Zac Blair at 750-1 to win the PLAYERS Championship. He's not going to win anyway, and your bet will end up winning $0, so we're happy to give you a 25% better price than DraftKings."

But for two-way markets, they're much more aggressive in updating their prices — a good golf matchup bet will be gone in seconds.

The FanDuel North Carolina promo is simple. Just bet $5, and you'll get $250 bonus bets at launch. You can split them up in any increment you'd like, but they do expire in seven days.

4. Caesars Sportsbook

• Promo Code: ACTION4DBL
• Offer: Bet $10, get $250
• Total max value: $250 in bonus bets

Caesars bought William Hill's tech a few years back and has overhauled it a bit, but the product still doesn't have a ton that stands out from DraftKings and FanDuel.

One differentiator for Caesars is that they will take a bet (assuming you're not a truly sharp player; in which case you'll be limited by any U.S. book). Many sportsbooks will post niche markets and accept no more than $20 on them, even if you're not limited on everything else. They just don't want to get burned. But what's the point of posting it if you won't book any action on it? Caesars, for niche sports like NASCAR and golf, will accept bigger wagers.

If you're truly a high-roller, Caesars is one of the best places to get action down, as they took more million-dollar bets on the Super Bowl than any other U.S. book.

The Caesars Sportsbook NC promo code ACTION4DBL will give you $250 in bonus bets after a $10 bet.

5. ESPN BET

• Promo Code: ACTNEWSNC
• Offer: $225 bonus bets + 200% deposit match up to $500
• Total max value: $225 bonus bets + $500 in cashback*

ESPN BET switched tech providers from Kambi (which also powers books like BetRivers and Unibet) to its own in-house technology powered by theScore Bet, which it acquired more than two years ago.

This switch should prove fruitful in the long run. Like a lot of the other Tier 2 operators, they don't offer a ton that sets them apart from FanDuel and DraftKings, but one thing I do like about ESPN BET is their same game parlay offerings. They're one of the few books that let's you bet alternate unders when it comes to player props.

Sportsbooks try to guide you into only betting overs, and alternate overs, but ESPN BET actually gives you some options to go the other way, like Jalen Brunson under 4.5 assists at +320.

The ESPN BET NC promo code ACTNEWSNC gives NC users $225 after any wager, plus a 200% deposit match up to $500.

ESPN BET has another offer, as well, which you'll get automatically. It's a $500 max deposit match, meaning if you put in $250, you'll get $500. But the bonus unlocks very slowly — 5% at a time for every dollar wagered. You can read our full guide on this offer here.

6. Fanatics Sportsbook

• Promo Code: Use modules
• Offers: $1,000/10-day bet match or bet $20, get $200
• Total max value: $1,000 bonus bets

I have not used Fanatics much yet since it's not in New Jersey, but the feedback I've gotten from coworkers and friends is that it's limited but improving.

It's hard to build a sportsbook from scratch. Like impossible. Most operators are duct-taped together from a variety of tech and odds providers. After acquiring PointsBet, which did have some unique offerings (like Points Betting), Fanatics should eventually catch up on the product front to this second tier.

Fanatics does have probably the strongest rewards program of any sportsbook, giving you 1% FanCash for straight bets, 3% for parlays and 5% for same game parlays. You can convert that FanCash into bonus bets or merch in the Fanatics store, but it's nice that for every SGP you're getting 5% back, essentially.

Fanatics Sportsbook North Carolina has a choice of offers available in North Carolina:

1. Get $1,000 total bonus bets over 10 days: Your first bet of the day will be matched with up to $100 bonus bets for 10 days. So if you place a $100 bet each day, you'll get $1,000 bonus bets total.
2. Bet $20, get $200 in bonus bets: Just place a $20 bet, and you'll get $200 in bonus bets/FanCash to use on any game.

7. BetMGM

• Promo Code: TANNC
• Offer: Bet $5, get $150 bonus bets
• Total max value: $150 bonus bets

BetMGM has been contending for the third spot in U.S. market share for much of the last five years. And while they've acknowledged the product is not where it needs to be, MGM continues to invest more in advertising than the actual betting experience.

The biggest pro for me is that BetMGM seems to price a lot of their own markets and will continue to do so after acquiring European odds provider Angstrom last year. While some books use the same odds provider, giving users pretty much the exact same menu down to the most very niche props, BetMGM will often stray just a bit. If you want to bet a prop and it's already moved from -110 to -145 at DraftKings and FanDuel, it's possible BetMGM hasn't moved it yet.

I just pulled up our college basketball odds grid for Tuesday, and BetMGM has the best price among the major U.S. books in three of the four games (noted by the orange banner).

If you're in North Carolina, the BetMGM NC promo code TANNC gives you $150 in bonus bets with any $5 wager.

8. Underdog Sports

• Promo Code: None
• Offer: $1,000 first bet mulligan
• Total max value: $450*

Underdog is debuting its sports betting product in North Carolina, so we don't know much about the product. Their fantasy football and DFS pick'em products are excellent, so I expect them to bring one of the best apps to the market eventually.

*As we detailed with bet365, if you "hedge" the first bet mulligan, you can lock in $450 in cash. But if you don't, your first bet could be worth thousands, or it could be worth $0.