Sports betting is a step closer to being legal in North Carolina. What’s next?
Senators brought the prospect of legal sports wagering in North Carolina one step closer to reality.
If Senate Bill 688 becomes law, North Carolina residents could bet online or in person on professional, college, electronic and amateur sports or any other event approved by the N.C. Lottery Commission.
On Thursday morning, senators passed the bill in a 26 to 19 vote. The bill now goes to the House for consideration.
Sen. Jim Perry, a Lenoir County Republican, told his colleagues on the Senate floor Wednesday that he knew the bill was controversial and even his mother opposed portions of it but he hoped that it would drive revenue and funding toward North Carolina schools.
Sen. Paul Lowe, a Winston-Salem Democrat, echoed Perry’s words.
“I see this as a revenue bill,” Lowe said. “This could bring revenue to our state.”
Lowe added there is already illegal gambling taking place. He said legalizing would allow the state to profit from gambling and direct it to areas in need of resources.
Senators remained split on whether to pass the bill.
“Members, this bill produces very little money, and it targets young people, and I plan to vote against it,” said Sen. Jim Burgin, a Harnett County Republican.
The bill gives authority to the lottery commission to allow, regulate and tax sports wagering.
The lottery commission would be required to authorize at least 10, but no more than 12, interactive sports wagering licenses that are valid for five years.
The bill would also create the North Carolina Major Events, Games, and Attractions Fund to increase job opportunities and economic development in the state.
Fiscal analysis staff estimates that revenue from sports betting would be on the higher end of $8 million to $24 million annually, Perry told The News & Observer.
License holders would be taxed 8% of their adjusted gross revenue and 50% of those taxes would be sent to the newly created fund, which would then be used to promote major events in North Carolina. The other 50% would go toward the state’s general fund.
Perry said 58% of the general fund goes toward education. He added that he wanted to earmark the funds for counties experiencing high economic distress but he would lose support of senators outside those districts.
Senators approved an amendment to the bill on the floor Wednesday afternoon that requires the lottery commission to transfer $1 million to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services to fund gambling addiction programs.
“Since we have had members express sincere concerns about the impact that gambling may have on some individuals, we wanted to get out in front of that issue and provide a little comfort for it,” Perry said.
An identical bill was filed in the House but never made it out of the committee on commerce.
SB 688 came before the Senate’s rules committee Tuesday. Three people came to speak out against the bill including Mark Creech of the Christian Action League, John Rustin of the NC Family Policy Council and Dennis Justice, a former candidate for both the Senate and House, who used sports gambling as one of his campaign platforms.
“Senate Bill 688 will result in tens of thousands more of our state citizens and their families being victimized by gambling addiction,” Rustin said. “... Problems from pathological gambling manifests itself in acts of theft, embezzlement, job loss, personal bankruptcy, substance abuse, domestic violence, child abuse, divorce, and even suicide.”
Sen. Bill Rabon, who led Tuesday’s meeting, took a voice vote in which the number of lawmakers opposed to the bill sounded equal to those who supported the bill.
Rabon, a Brunswick County Republican, said the committee found the bill favorable and sent it to the floor.
Lawmakers weren’t able to consider allowing sports gambling between 1992 and 2018 while the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act banned sports wagering nationwide.
But in 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the act as unconstitutional.
Twenty states and Washington, D.C., currently allow sports betting. North Carolina does not, except at American Indian tribal casinos.
For more North Carolina government and politics news, listen to the Under the Dome politics podcast from The News & Observer and the NC Insider. You can find it at link.chtbl.com/underthedomenc or wherever you get your podcasts.
This story was originally published August 19, 2021 at 11:44 AM.
