Gambling on sports became legal in North Carolina on March 11. Between then and March 31, people in the state placed almost $660 million in bets. 

That includes paid bets and promo wagers, when sportsbooks give new customers incentives to sign up. Of those bets, people in North Carolina won more than $590 million. 

The North Carolina Lottery Commission, which oversees sports gambling, has given licenses to eight companies to take bets online and over smartphone apps.

Those companies, like DraftKings and FanDuel, flooded North Carolina with ads in the weeks leading up to March 11 and all through the NCAA basketball tournament. 

The North Carolina General Assembly passed a law allowing sports gambling last year, but it was not officially implemented until March, just as the college basketball tournament was getting started. 

The new figures are from the Lottery Commission's first monthly report on sports gambling activity in North Carolina. 

Wagering on sports means big money in North Carolina for the companies taking bets. The sports wagering companies together made almost $66.5 million in 20 days in March. The state will tax that revenue at 18%.

The Lottery Commission is still working to implement other parts of the sports wagering law, including provisions to allow brick-and-mortar sportsbooks in North Carolina.