NC should 'explore' options to deal with Virginia border casinos, Senate leader says

Virginia's decision to build four casinos near the North Carolina border has gotten the attention of NC's most powerful lawmakers.

The Virginia Lottery Board this week approved an operating license for Caesars Virginia to construct a casino in Danville, just over the border from Rockingham County. A temporary facility is set to open next month.

Senate leader Phil Berger, a Republican from Rockingham County, said North Carolina should explore its options to deal with it.

There are three casinos operating in the state currently -- two on Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians land in western North Carolina and another on Catawba tribal land off Interstate 85 near the South Carolina border.

"There is a legitimate concern of the impact of the multiple casinos that the folks in the Commonwealth of Virginia are placing right on the North Carolina border," he told WRAL on Thursday.

"If you look at population centers, the real population centers are south of Danville in North Carolina. So I think there's a legitimate concern of a drain from North Carolina into Virginia: of dollars, of business, of people. We'll see whether or not there's something that that is practical for us to do in North Carolina to address that."

In 2020, Virginia lawmakers and voters approved casinos in four southern cities: Danville, Bristol, Norfolk and Portsmouth.

A recent analysis of gambling in North Carolina studied the impact of three standalone casinos in Anson, Nash and Rockingham counties. It found that gross gaming revenue from those three casinos, if they were the only expansion of gambling in the state, would exceed $1.6 billion on an annual basis.

The analysis was commissioned by Greater Carolina, a nonprofit political education organization that bills itself as a coalition of “forward thinking, pro-free market conservative leaders.” It was released in late March.

Berger, who leads a GOP super majority in the Senate, said he has not discussed the issue with his caucus. Unlike other hot-button issues in the legislature, gambling bills often do not breakdown along party lines.

He said he was not endorsing the idea, at this point, of approving more casinos in the state.

"I'm endorsing the idea that there are things that we should be concerned about in the context of what's happening in Virginia with casinos being located along the North Carolina border," Berger said. "I think it's something that we need to to be aware of, need to explore whether there are some alternatives for us to to deal with."

Virginia's casinos are in smaller cities or places in need of an economic boost. Berger pointed out that the state often provides incentives, tax rebates or infrastructure improvements to lure businesses to the state.

"I'd be interested in looking at alternatives where we would find economic activity and economic growth that would be coming to North Carolina that would not involve an appropriation by the state, would not involve the state allocating a certain amount of money that the state otherwise would collect from income taxes," he said.

"Whether or not gaming is something like that, I think it's worth exploring. We've not done that yet, but I'm sure there'll be conversations."

The chamber has yet to act on a House-passed mobile sports wagering bill. Berger said it likely would have to wait until after the Senate deals with its budget, which is expected to be released in mid-May.