NC Family Staff | August 2, 2023 | SHARE: 
As North Carolina lawmakers are still trying to iron out the details of a state budget, they are also debating whether or not to legalize a number of commercial gambling casinos in North Carolina. A draft proposal that came to light last week suggests that legislative leaders are considering three casinos that would be located in Rockingham, Anson, and Nash counties, and another that would be located somewhere in southeastern North Carolina and operated by the Lumbee Indian Tribe. These casinos would be in addition to two tribal casinos currently operated in western North Carolina by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and one in Kings Mountain by the South Carolina-based Catawba Indian Nation.
Legislators are scheduled to return to Raleigh next week to vote on a variety of measures that could include the budget bill, several veto overrides, and possibly a proposal to legalize commercial gambling casinos. They need to hear from you NOW!
NC Family is hearing the grave concerns of citizens across the state, especially within the regions where these casinos would be located, and with good reason. Commercial gambling casinos fuel gambling addiction, which destroys individual lives and families. Casinos also cannibalize the local economy and siphon money away from local businesses and personal investments. A comprehensive report in 2013 by the Institute for American Values entitled, Why Casinos Matter, details “Thirty-One Evidence-Based Propositions from the Health and Social Sciences” about the harms of casino gambling on society. The report emphatically concludes, “Evidence from the health and social sciences suggests that the new American casinos are associated with a range of negative health, economic, political, intellectual, and social outcomes. For this reason, we view state sponsorship of casino gambling as a regressive and damaging policy.” Read the report for yourself here.
