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The North Carolina Gaming Commission is about to be assemble in order to assist with the sports betting expansion in the state. Sports Betting

The North Carolina Sports Betting Study Bill Was Not Passed

By Blake Roberts Founder & Editor in Chief Updated: 13 August 2019

Blake Roberts Founder & Editor in Chief

Blake Roberts is the founder of Betting.US and is currently heading the creative team as Editor in Chief. Born and raised in Morgantown, West Virginia, Blake is a great sports fan, with football and basketball being his favorite. He’s our trusted voice for all betting-related matters.

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North Carolina Representative Harry Warren’s bill would create an NC Gaming Commission which would be tasked with conducting a study regarding the expansion of sports betting in the state. That is if the bill gets passed. In a surprising move, Warren asked judiciary members to not concur his bill and got many surprised facial reactions. He also explained that an amendment on the House floor changed positions on boxing and bingo from the Alcohol Law Enforcement (ALE) division while failing to move over the funding that goes along with the positions.

It is important to note that the Senate cannot amend a bill during the concurrence process. Comments made in the Judiciary Committee show that it is unlikely the bill will get to have just one change before it is out of conference, as the sponsor hopes. The discussion on the bill lasted about fifteen minutes.

Warren’s NC Gaming Commission bill expands the scope of the Lottery Commission over both current and future gaming activities in North Carolina. A nine-member body that was renamed the North Carolina Gaming Commission, will encompass the boxing, lottery, bingo, and raffles. Because it is likely that the legislature will authorize gambling expansions in the next several years, Warren thinks it is important to get ahead of the situation and put all gaming regulatory concerns in one basket. He illustrated the need by pointing out the last year’s efforts to authorize daily fantasy sports, and then place it under the Secretary of State’s purview.

At the same time, Sen. Warren Daniel, who is the co-chair of the committee said he felt the bill needed thorough vetting in the Senate. Knowing there may not be enough time to move through the entire Senate process before adjournment, Warren found a bill that was made irrelevant upon reaching the governor’s desk but had already passed the Senate. The bill was gutted, and filled with the Gaming Commission language to go back for concurrence by the Senate. The language was not reviewed by a Senate Committee until Tuesday, but Warren mentioned it went through the House Judiciary, Commerce, Rules and Finance committees before receiving bipartisan support and passing.

Even so, Daniel is adamant that the Senate should examine the bill further next year and said he was going to a motion for non-concurrence even without Warren’s request.

“I appreciate all the esteemed committees it went through in the House, but I really think an earth-shattering bill like this that changes the way gaming is going to be approached in our state should never come over in a bill for us to just concur in terms of process when we’re here just trying to close out the session,” Daniel said. “I think it’s something we should probably continue to look at in 2020.”

Daniel has shown he has issues with the expansion of gambling in general, believing this bill would set a precedent that the expansion is coming. He recommended that the commission gets a social scientist who would study the way people divert their money for food, rent, or clothes to spend on gambling activities instead. Regardless, North Carolina became one of the states to authorize sports betting, even though that is only at its two tribal casinos.

I have a lot of concerns about where this bill is heading us towards, and I’m not one of these people who thinks just because two or three states around us has done something that we ought to do it too

said Senator Warren Daniel, co-chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee.