The state of North Carolina is soon going to launch online sports betting, but some in the state are looking for an even bigger change. Casino gambling is currently available in the state, but all of those options are currently at the tribal casinos that are present.
A recent poll from Meredith College now shows that voters in the state want some commercial casino options, and that could be paired with some new retail sportsbooks. That poll showed that 54 percent of voters were in favor of adding new casino options, but that is still a slight majority.
The tribal casinos are not seeing a ton of new gambling action, and those casinos don’t provide a huge revenue source for the state. North Carolina could see a new revenue stream with the presence of commercial casinos, but there is still a long fight ahead before that takes place.
The poll results just came out, and it will take some time to digest, but it’s unclear if lawmakers are even going to move forward with the issue. One effort has already failed, but this new information could ultimately bring up some new support.
A Look at the Poll
There were a number of questions that were used in this poll, and only voters of the state were eligible to participate. New commercial casinos cannot simply be built in the state, and it will take new legislation in order to make this happen.
Registered voters in the state were asked whether or not they would support legislation to legalize commercial gambling and the results were pretty straightforward. 57% of the voters said that they would either strongly support or somewhat support legislation that would bring commercial casinos into the state.
35% of the voters say that they are opposed to it in some form or fashion, but that’s far less than those that want to see this change happen. Nine percent of the voters that were polled had no opinion on the matter.
There are still many other layers to this issue, and looking into things deeper might show some differing opinions. It’s not easy to get this type of legislation passed, and therefore some of the language in the law might change people’s minds.
First Attempt Failed
Governor Roy Cooper was in support of expanded gambling, and signed a gambling expansion bill into law last June. As that was taking place, some lawmakers were looking to get online casino gambling thrown into the mix as well.
While it was pretty clear that online casinos were not coming to North Carolina, there was a chance for some to push for commercial casinos. Senate President Phil Berger was leading one charge that would have allowed for four commercial casinos to be built, and he was targeting rural communities.
This initial proposal was shot down pretty quickly as Republicans in the House threatened to vote against the budget proposal if this was included. Berger made the first attempt in the state, but others will likely be coming in the next few years.
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