A report by Spectrum Gaming, commissioned by North Carolina’s legislature, predicts billions of revenue for the state from gambling.
North Carolina Requested a Gambling Revenue Report
North Carolina’s legislature requested the state’s Education Lottery to conduct a study and issue a projection report on revenue from gambling and a problem gambling report. The state paid $425 000 for these reports.
Matt Roob, who conducted the gaming report with his team at Spectrum Gaming, a non-partisan consultancy specialized in legalized gaming, said that they used a tool for economic development.
Initially, the revenue report had to examine only sports wagering, but it changed to include other gambling forms like casinos, horse racing, online gambling, legal video poker, and online lottery.
Spectrum Gaming Suggests 9 State-Run Casinos in North Carolina
North Carolina already has 2 casinos run by Cherokees on the west side, and there will soon be another casino from the Catawba tribe. According to Spectrum, North Carolina would benefit from 9 state-run casinos.
The consultancy company suggested 3 casinos in the Charlotte area, 2 in the Triangle, and 1 in each Winston-Salem, Asheville, and Pinehurst. Roob said that by the 4th year, the revenue generated from gambling would cover the expenses without considering the revenue that would come from income tax, jobs, and hotel stays.
Report Predicts Billions of Revenue for North Carolina
According to the gaming report, within 5 years, the revenue from casinos would amount to $2.2 billion, revenue from video poker to $2.5 billion, sports betting would generate $367 million, online gambling revenue would be $300 million, and horse racing would generate $15 million.
When asked how the team came up with those numbers, Roob explained that they took a look at the behavior in other states, along with other factors such as the state residents’ income levels and the type of gaming offered in the neighboring states. According to Spectrum, it would cost approximately 1.8 billion to build 9 casinos in the state.
Roob said that his company only provides information based on analysis. The state opposition to gambling doesn’t want “the game” in the state, but there’s a legislative process.
North Carolina Opened Its First Sports Betting Facilities
North Carolina welcomed March Madness by opening its first sports betting facilities. The state reached an agreement with the Cherokee Indians and launched sports betting by opening sports wagering venues at the Harrah’s Cherokee Casino sites in Cherokee and Murphy. The tribal sports betting bill was approved in April 2019 and became officially legal in July 2019.
Lawmakers are considering getting into the sports wagering business and plan to sell licenses to private companies. There could be a new sports wagering bill for North Carolina in the upcoming weeks.