North Carolina Lawmakers To Try Different Approach to Casino Expansion

Article by : Erik Gibbs Sep 22, 2023

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Surprisingly, Republican legislative leaders in North Carolina have abandoned their efforts to expand legal gambling in the state.

Instead, they announced their intention to pass a final budget without the previously discussed provisions allowing for establishing up to four new casinos in the state.

Senate leader Phil Berger stated that moving forward is the right call.

This decision comes after North Carolina Republican lawmakers had been locked in a budgetary standoff complicated by disagreements over including provisions related to the expansion of state-sanctioned gambling.

This impasse, which occurred after months of negotiations, resulted in the delay of a two-year budget initially scheduled to be in place by July 1.

The challenge of gathering the necessary votes to authorize the creating of four new casinos and legalising and regulating video gambling machines had been a significant contention among House and Senate GOP lawmakers.

Earlier in the month, a group of conservatives in the state House expressed reservations about the proposal by Senate Republicans, which aimed to include language expanding gambling in the two-year spending plan.

Recently, there were discussions about separating the gambling provisions from the budget bill and making their passage contingent on Medicaid expansion.

However, this approach risked jeopardizing a landmark healthcare agreement that Democratic Governor Roy Cooper had reached with GOP legislators six months ago.

Until recently, Republican lawmakers had staunchly opposed accepting expansion through the 2010 federal healthcare law.

The attempt to link gambling with Medicaid expansion failed to gain the support of nearly all Cooper’s Democratic allies in the legislature, and Republican holdouts further threatened to derail the bill’s progress.

In response, House Speaker Tim Moore and Senate leader Phil Berger announced that efforts to advance gambling expansion would be put on hold for the foreseeable future.

Moore clarified that differences of opinion within the House Republican caucus played a significant role, and ultimately, they believed that this particular issue, among others, shouldn’t be the sole reason for delaying the budget, as reported by the AP.

Medicaid expansion remains a top priority for Governor Cooper and his legislative allies. Opponents of linking it with gambling argued that such a move violated the promise made by Republicans within an expansion law signed by Cooper in March, which required the enactment of a budget law as a prerequisite for Medicaid expansion.

Additionally, many Republicans remained dissatisfied with the gambling provisions, further complicating the bill’s prospects.

Moore and Berger revealed that details of the negotiated final two-year spending plan would be unveiled on Wednesday, with floor votes scheduled for Thursday and Friday.

They expressed confidence in receiving full Republican support for the budget bill and expected Democratic votes.

Berger’s office released legislation that would have authorized the creation of additional casinos, calling for introducing four new casinos in the state.

Three of these casinos would have been located in rural counties meeting specific criteria, such as a population of less than 100,000 and proximity to major transportation corridors and international airports.

Additionally, one casino would have been operated by the Lumbee tribe in southeastern North Carolina.

The move to expand gambling in North Carolina had gained momentum after the General Assembly passed legislation in June authorizing sports betting, set to begin next year. The state currently houses three casinos operated by two American Indian tribes.