RALEIGH, N.C. – The State Employees Association of North Carolina and the Legislative Black Caucus have thrown their political support behind legislation to regulate and tax video gaming in North Carolina.
State Representative Earl Jones (D-Guilford) today announced the endorsements during a press conference at the Legislative Building in Raleigh.
“We are looking for a resolution to our budget crisis,” said Representative Alma Adams (D-Guilford) chairwoman of the Black Legislative Caucus. “We are here to support video lottery terminals because we see it as a viable option for additional revenue. The games are here, people are playing them, so we need to look at regulating and taxing them,” Rep. Adams said.
“I have supported the lottery, I have voted against video poker but I am here today to take a second look,” said State Representative Jean Farmer-Butterfield (D-Wilson). “It’s time to regulate and tax video gaming as a revenue source for the state. We have to come up with a way to generate revenue. The Legislative Black Caucus cares about people with needs in our state. We see video gaming as a permanent source of revenue.”
“We are in a real budget crisis in North Carolina. As these men and women work here today to find more than a billion dollars in revenue, the Entertainment Group of North Carolina is coming to the General Assembly asking them to regulate and tax the video gaming industry,” said William Thevaos, president of the Entertainment Group of North Carolina.
“While there is an army of lobbyists and special interest groups working the halls of the General Assembly today opposing budget cuts and new taxes, the Entertainment Group of North Carolina is the only group down here on Jones Street asking for more regulation and taxation,” added Thevaos.
Recent Superior Court rulings have validated video gaming rights in North Carolina. Earlier this year, Wake County Superior Court Judge Howard Manning ruled it was unconstitutional to grant video gaming rights to the Cherokee nation without granting the same rights to citizens in all 100 counties.
“Video gaming is alive and operating well in North Carolina,” said Chase Brooks, a video gaming operator from Burlington. “In one mile of the State Capitol, I can take you to a video sweepstake center. These court rulings mean we will see a proliferation of video gaming in the state, that’s why it is critical for the Legislature to take action this session.”
Thevaos said if the Legislature fails to act the lawmakers will be turning back the hands of time. “We cannot afford to return to the dark days. We need to move forward in a partnership with the Governor and Legislature to oversee, regulate and tax video lottery terminals,” stated Thevaos.
“If you really want to clean up video poker, if you want to make video gaming transparent – then enter into a partnership with the industry to regulate and tax it. There are $498 million reasons we need to do it,” said Thevaos.
