Some legislators fear that introduction of sports betting will make gambling addiction more acute, but there are supporters for sports betting among both Democrats and Republicans.
Since the Supreme Court decision in 2019 to legalize sports betting, almost 20 States in the USA have already introduced legal sports betting practices and North Carolina is eager to join this list. But the opposition still remains strong.
Executive Director of the Christian Action League of North Carolina believes that the sports betting industry and the gambling industry are extremely predatory in nature. They deliberately target financially vulnerable persons and lead them down a path of addiction.
In North Carolina, the sports betting license bill has just been approved by the finance committee of the Senate. The bill now has to pass through and get the approval of two more panels of the Senate. Then it will go to the Senate floor for discussion and vote.
Senator Jim Perry, a Republican legislator in favor of the bill, has tried to convince other legislators by pointing out statistics that only a few Americans suffer from gambling addiction in their lifetime. He also feels that people with a proclivity towards addiction will only channelize it to some other source even if sports betting is not introduced.
If the sports betting bill finally receives enough votes in the Senate and gets passed, it will become part of North Carolina law. Once that happens, the North Carolina Lottery will be able to issue licenses for top sportsbooks. In the initial phase at least 10 or 12 licenses are expected to be issued to sportsbooks operators.
North Carolina’s sports betting future is still uncertain but some legislators are fighting hard to get it approved and implemented in the State as soon as possible.
