North Carolina casinos could generate $2.2B in revenue within 5 years

The North Carolina legislature requested the North Carolina Education Lottery to commission a report to study the potential economic impact of sports wagering. The scope of the report by Spectrum Gaming then changed to include casinos, legal video poker, internet casino games, horse racing and internet lottery, according to WRAL, which obtained the reports through a public records request.

The projections within five years show $2.2 billion in revenue from casinos, $2.5 billion from statewide video poker, $367 million in sports betting, $300 million from internet casino games and $15 million on horses. "You take a look at what behavior has been like in other states," explained Matt Roob, who created the gaming report along with his team at Spectrum Gaming. Other factors include income levels and what kind of gaming is offered by surrounding states.

North Carolina paid $425,000 for the revenue projection reports, as well as one report on problem gambling. "It has been used in the past as an economic development tool," said Roob.

Already home to two casinos run by the Cherokees in the western part of the state and a soon-to-be casino from the Catawba tribe, Spectrum said North Carolina could also benefit from as many as 9 state-run casinos. As for the places Spectrum suggested for casinos, the locations include 3 casinos in the Charlotte area, two in the Triangle and one each in Pinehurst, Wilmington, Winston-Salem and Asheville. Spectrum estimates the cost to build the nine casinos with integrated hotels at $1.8 billion. By year four, state tax receipts from gambling alone would cover the cost. That doesn’t take into account other tax revenue generated through hotel stays, meals and income tax from the jobs created.

Lawmakers are working on a bill to get into the sports gambling business that could be filed in the next couple of weeks, according to WRAL Investigates.