Getting the elephant under the tent

The puzzler asks, “How do you get an 800-pound elephant under a tent?” The answer is one step at a time. First you get the trunk. Then the head, and so on and so on. For our present discussion the elephant symbolizes gambling, and the tent represents the State of North Carolina. Gambling is being introduced into our state one step at a time.

First, there was approval of the state lottery in 2005. It was 2024 before the next step. In March, after much lobbying (and campaign cash contributions), online betting operators began accepting sports bets in North Carolina for the first time in the state's history. 

From March until the recent Super Bowl The North Carolina State Lottery Commission reported that North Carolinians had waged more than $6 billion dollars. Only $4.7 billion (about 78 cents on each dollar waged) was paid in winnings. 

The only bright spot, if you can call it that, is that the state collected 18 percent on the wagers, a total of $118 million in taxes. $2 million of that was directed to the Department of Health and Human Services to pay for gambling-addiction prevention programs, 1 million to the NC Youth Outdoor Engagement Commission and another $1 million to NC Amateur Sports. Finally, $3.9 million was directed to athletics programs at UNC non-flagship universities. 

Once paid, one-half of all future tax revenues will go to the state’s general fund, 30 percent will go to a new “major events” fund, then 20 percent will subsidize athletics at the 13 universities in the UNC System. 

If you detect the smell of pork, your olfactory senses are working well.

Our “elephant” almost moved further under the tent last year, when legislation to open three gambling casinos in our state almost passed. It failed when some of the communities targeted to get the casinos rose up in opposition, but the primary reason was that the NC House opposed the measure.

“You can't swing a dead cat in this place [the legislative building] and not hit a lobbyist that hadn't been hired on gaming,” said House Speaker Tim Moore.

Bob Hall, representing the watchdog group Democracy NC, reported that from January 2022 to March 2024 the gambling industry had flooded political groups and campaigns with $3 million in contributions. “The $3 million includes $1.1 million in direct campaign contributions (nearly all for Republicans) and $2.1 million to GOPAC and the Republican State Leadership Committee. These two 527s (the title these groups are known by thanks to their IRS code designation) finance Citizens for a Better North Carolina, a front group guided by Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore that helps elect GOP candidates.”

It is looking like at least one more casino will be approved soon. President Trump signed a memorandum to the Secretary of the Interior endorsing the Lumbee Indians in our state to become federally recognized. That isn’t final approval, but whatever Trump wants usually gets done. With federal recognition the Lumbee can open a casino on tribal lands, adding to the three  already existing at Cherokee, Murphy and Kings Mountain. Caesar’s opened a new casino across the border in Danville, Virginia in December.

You can bet your bottom dollar that before this 2025 session of the legislature adjourns, we will see a “tush push” to get at least three other casinos passed. Proponents will put on a full court press, saying that casinos are already all around us and, if there are none nearby, people will travel out of state to gamble. Wouldn’t it be better, they ask, if our state got the revenues from tourism and the taxes on wagers instead of them benefitting other states? This was exactly the same argument they used to get approval of the lottery. It worked!

But in all this discussion I hear the voice of “the old teacher” as David Diamont calls himself. Diamont has devoted his life to teaching, coaching football, and for twenty years in the North Carolina House of Representatives, where he chaired the Appropriations Committee. In a recent Facebook post Diamont commented on gambling, “What do you expect when governments encourage gambling!!! And why would government do that??? Because elected officials don’t have the intestinal fortitude to cut spending or increase taxes to balance budgets! Plus this is actually a tax shift to the middle and lower class. And most of us buy that $2 lottery ticket in hopes of getting out of debt!  How times have changed! When I served in the General Assembly gambling was a “no, no”! Today, it’s accepted! Apologize for the rant! Just an old teacher here!”

It past is prologue we can expect the casino bill to pass. Then the gambling interests will want us to open horse and dog tracks.  The proverbial elephant will then be entirely under the tent!

Tom Campbell is a Hall of Fame North Carolina broadcaster and columnist who has covered North Carolina public policy issues since 1965.  Contact him at tomcamp@carolinabroadcasting.com