Source: WRAL
Online sports gambling could be soon legal in North Carolina as early as this fall according to some state legislators. Sports gambling is legal in North Carolina but only at two Cherokee casinos in the far western part of our state. So for now, you will be taking a trip out west to bet on your favorite sport.
“We just want to make sure we have drummed up the votes, and I think we have,” state Sen. Paul Lowe, D-Forsyth, the bill’s sponsor, said in an interview with WRAL News. “I feel confident about it.”
Gov. Roy Cooper has indicated in the past that he would sign an online sports betting bill into legislation. North Carolina would join other states that have legalized online betting after a supreme court decision left it up to individual states to decide on gambling. Other neighboring states such as Tennessee and Virginia have already legalized online betting.
Recent polling has suggested that many North Carolinians are in support of online gambling with the state looking to cash in on additional revenue gambling could bring in. Although online gambling has plenty of bipartisan support, there are still some lawmakers concerned that gambling could have a negative impact on low-income families. Others are concerned about increased addictions associated with gambling. There are proposals in the current bill for gambling revenue to fund gambling addiction and big state events with some calling for revenue to also support education.
