North Carolina is increasingly if not overwhelmingly in support of liberalizing its gambling industry a step further. With the state already collecting steady revenue from sports betting, and having tribal casinos, voters seem to be also inclined to give a nod to commercial casinos, the kinds that are built on non-tribal land.

North Carolina shows appetite for commercial casinos

A new poll from Meredith College in Raleigh has assessed a number of sensitive and important topics to locals, with a majority of respondents – 58% arguing that they would like to see casino gambling legalized on non-native lands.

In contrast, only 32% were opposed to the issue on average. However, things got interesting when specific age groups were queried. For example, the youngest and oldest respondents saw a stronger opposition in their ranks – 35% and 52% of both groups respectively said that expanding casinos and out of non-tribal lands was a bad idea.

Meredith Poll Director David McLennan had this to add commenting on the results:

We have the lottery and have just adopted online sports wagering in the state. Plus, many states, including those on the border of North Carolina, now have casino gambling so even citizens who might have had objections to casino gambling 20 years ago might be resigned to the fact that all forms of gambling are inevitable.

Digging into the data a step further, the poll also broke down the findings of two questions by the number of respondents.

The youngest and their elders see eye to eye

One question read: "Would you support or oppose allowing casino gambling in the State of North Carolina (on non-native lands)?" The findings were as follows:

With the majority favoring the legalization of commercial casinos, North Carolina is yet to see a move in that direction.

However, Virginia has already opened commercial casinos close to the border, which may incentivize lawmakers keen to retain gambling revenue inside the state’s borders to push in favor of an expanded gambling framework.

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