UNITED STATES NEWS

Top North Carolina senator says chances for approving more sanctioned gambling “better than 50-50”

Jul 13, 2023, 12:30 PM | Updated: 1:32 pm

FILE - North Carolina Senate leader Phil Berger presides over a Senate floor debate on new abortion...

FILE - North Carolina Senate leader Phil Berger presides over a Senate floor debate on new abortion restrictions, May, 4, 2023, in Raleigh, N.C. A ban on green investing cleared North Carolina’s GOP-controlled legislature on Tuesday, June 13, as part of a broader Republican crusade against big businesses that champion sustainability and workplace diversity. (AP Photo/Hannah Schoenbaum, File)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS

(AP Photo/Hannah Schoenbaum, File)

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — One of North Carolina’s most powerful legislators expressed optimism Thursday that a further expansion of state-sanctioned gambling will be worked out before legislators end this year’s regular business later this summer.

The General Assembly hasn’t adjourned while House and Senate Republicans negotiate sticking points on a two-year state government budget that was supposed to take effect July 1. Chamber leaders also continue to talk about whether they should permit casinos on non-tribal lands, authorize and regulate video gambling machines, or both, Senate leader Phil Berger told reporters.

When asked to evaluate the chances that legislation allowing some combination of new gambling would reach Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s desk this summer within or separate from a budget agreement, Berger replied: “I’d say better than 50-50.”

“It’s a serious discussion,” he added.

The legislature already enacted a law last month that authorizes betting on sports and horse racing statewide, with the first wagers expected in the first half of 2024. It marked the legislature’s largest expansion of gambling since creating a state lottery in 2005. Cooper signed the sports gambling bill into law to public fanfare.

The state currently has three casinos, operated by two American Indian tribes. But legislators, in particular Berger, are worried about casinos that have opened recently in Virginia near the North Carolina border and where North Carolina residents are betting.

The latest opened in Danville, Virginia, roughly 25 miles from Berger’s hometown of Eden. Berger said he traveled to Danville this month and estimates 80% of the vehicles in the casino parking lot had North Carolina license plates. Authorizing North Carolina casinos is seen by supporters as a way to neutralize out-of-state gambling, generate revenues for state and local government coffers, and help economically depressed areas where venues would create jobs.

“The gaming is already taking place in North Carolina, and gaming is taking place on the border of North Carolina that is pulling money out of North Carolina,” Berger said, adding that a new additional revenue stream “has multiple benefits.”

Rep. Jason Saine of Lincoln County, a chief House budget-negotiator who also shepherded this year’s sports gambling legislation, said Wednesday he didn’t know how House colleagues would respond to the idea of additional casinos and video gambling because the Senate hadn’t yet provided a proposal. That could include how many casinos would be permitted, whether construction would be contingent on local referendums and what the state’s financial cut would be.

Berger and Saine confirmed this week that budget differences remain over the extent of a tax-reduction package and how to distribute reserves for items such as capital projects and economic development. And they both acknowledged a deal may not be finalized until August.

Saine insisted the fate of casino expansion isn’t holding up the state budget, but rather the speed at which Republicans lower taxes and what fiscal guardrails are in place while it’s carried out. But additional gambling revenues could recalibrate the level of cuts with which House members could feel comfortable.

The House plan would have lowered slightly further the rate already planned for 2024 but the trajectory would still hit 3.99% in 2027.

To ensure fiscal stability, Saine said, the House wants to block deeper rate cuts unless the state meets certain revenue levels. The Senate has concerns about “trigger” provisions with high benchmarks that could never be met, Berger said. But Saine acknowledged that locating additional revenue streams could ease such requirements. “It is much harder to sell an expedited tax reform process without the backfill of revenue,” he said.

An obstacle to the authorization of further gambling this year also could be a coalition of social conservatives and certain liberals within the General Assembly who say it’s not worth the harm that gambling addiction causes families and children.

A similar bloc helped derail sports gambling in the House last year, but it was overtaken by pro-gambling forces in 2023. Advancing more gambling this summer could be a bridge too far for some lawmakers.

More gambling options would create more gamblers and “just exacerbate all of the social problems that come along with gambling,” John Rustin with the anti-gambling North Carolina Family Policy Council said Thursday. “Just because other states make poor choices doesn’t mean that North Carolina should do the same.”

United States News

FILE - Protesters shout before a speaking engagement by Ben Shapiro on the campus of the University...

Associated Press

Few Americans say conservatives can speak freely on college campuses, AP-NORC/UChicago poll shows

WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans view college campuses as far friendlier to liberals than to conservatives when it comes to free speech, with adults across the political spectrum seeing less tolerance for those on the right, according to a new poll. Overall, 47% of adults say liberals have “a lot” of freedom to express their views […]

4 hours ago

Fencer Kirsten Hawkes poses for a portrait at a fencing studio Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023, in San Dieg...

Associated Press

Forced kiss claim leads to ‘helplessness’ for accuser who turned to Olympics abuse-fighting agency

DENVER (AP) — When Kirsten Hawkes, a one-time elite fencer, reached out to her childhood coach for advice about starting her own fencing club, their meeting turned awkward right away. It began, she said, with an unwanted kiss on the lips when the two met at a bar during a fencing tournament in Minneapolis last […]

4 hours ago

FILE - President Joe Biden and California Gov. Gavin Newsom wait for reporters to leave the room du...

Associated Press

California governor to name Laphonza Butler, former Kamala Harris adviser, to Feinstein Senate seat

LOS ANGELES (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom will name Laphonza Butler, a Democratic strategist and adviser to Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign, to fill the vacant U.S. Senate seat held by the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a spokesman in his office said Sunday. In choosing Butler, Newsom fulfilled his pledge to appoint a Black woman […]

5 hours ago

File - The Southern University Human Jukebox marching band warms up before the 2023 National Battle...

Associated Press

Federal student loan payments are starting again. Here’s what you need to know

Federal student loan borrowers will need to start making payments again this month after a three-year-plus pause due to the pandemic.

5 hours ago

FILE - Former President Donald Trump speaks in Clinton Township, Mich., Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2023. ...

Associated Press

Donald Trump says he will be in courtroom for New York trial scrutinizing his business practices

NEW YORK (AP) — With control over some of his most prized real estate holdings in jeopardy, former President Donald Trump says he will make a rare, voluntary trip to court Monday for the start of a civil trial in a lawsuit that has already resulted in a judge ruling that he committed fraud in […]

6 hours ago

Associated Press

A woman who fled the Maui wildfire on foot has died after weeks in a hospital burn unit

HONOLULU (AP) — A woman who escaped a wildfire that destroyed Hawaii community by running through a burning field has died after spending more than seven weeks in a hospital burn unit. Laurie Allen died Friday at Straub Medical Center in Honolulu, according to a gofundme page set up for her and her husband, Perry […]

12 hours ago

Sponsored Articles

Sanderson Ford...

Sanderson Ford

Sanderson Ford congratulates D-backs’ on drive to great first half of 2023

The Arizona Diamondbacks just completed a red-hot first half of the major league season, and Sanderson Ford wants to send its congratulations to the ballclub.

...

re:vitalize

When most diets fail, re:vitalize makes a difference that shows

Staying healthy and losing weight are things many people in Arizona are conscious of, especially during the summer.

...

DAY & NIGHT AIR CONDITIONING, HEATING AND PLUMBING

Here are the biggest tips to keep your AC bill low this summer

PHOENIX — In Arizona during the summer, having a working air conditioning unit is not just a pleasure, but a necessity. No one wants to walk from their sweltering car just to continue to be hot in their home. As the triple digits hit around the Valley and are here to stay, your AC bill […]

Top North Carolina senator says chances for approving more sanctioned gambling “better than 50-50”