WADESBORO — Legislation authorizing sports gambling in North Carolina received approval from the NC House in late March, and now some state lawmakers are considering to expand casino gambling in the state.

This year’s top supporters of the bipartisan House bill have been deliberate in building support, collecting more than 55 sponsors within the 120-member chamber, according to the Associated Press.

Some forms of gambling are legal in North Carolina, such as the Education Lottery or gambling activity at Tribal Casinos. The expansion would legalize of other types of gambling so North Carolinians no longer have to cross the state border to do so.

There are currently three casinos in the state, two located in the far-western part of the state and another on Interstate 85 near the South Carolina border. A recent analysis of gambling studied the potential impact of three casinos located around the state, in Anson, Nash and Rockingham county. The expected gross gaming revenue from those three casinos would be $1.6 billion. The full report, entitled “Gaming Market Analysis: Potential New Gaming Options in North Carolina” commissioned by Greater Carolina and created by Spectrum Gaming Group, can be read in full online.

Spectrum estimated that NC would leak $259 million in gross gaming revenue from developing casinos in Danville and Hampton Roads in Virginia.

From the report, Anson’s casino would be able to attract South Carolinians, while Nash and Rockingham casinos could potentially draw in Virginians and Tennesseans as well as their North Carolina residents.

Other than casinos, the expansion would include both sports betting and video lottery terminals. In 2022, over 131,000 North Carolina residents placed 1.27 million bets in states such as Virginia and Tennessee through September eighth to January first. Using geofencing technology, the analysis was able to determine where the bettors traveled to place digital sports wagers via legal sportsbooks.

It’s unclear at this time why Anson County was included in the analysis and the exact timeline on legislation regarding casino gambling in the state (and whether it could realistically be approved). Any projected timelines for the casinos were not included in the study.