Rep. Earl Jones called a news conference Tuesday to announce his longshot effort to legalize and regulate video gambling has new endorsements.

The Black Caucus and the State Employees Association of North Carolina support the bill, which would take for the state 20 cents for every dollar spent on video poker machines. Dropping video gambling machines in bars, convenience stores and other establishments across the state could raise nearly $500 million in new revenue, Jones said.

And perhaps anticpating arguments about proliferating gambling across the state, Jones repeatedly stated his opinion that video gaming is no different than the lottery.

"Gambling activity is gambling activity, whether you're talking about a video lottery or a scratch-off ticket," said Jones, a Greensboro Democrat.

Dana Cope, present of SEANC, which represents 55,000 public employees, said the new revenue would allow the state to continue to provide needed services.

"North Carolina's government made this decision. We as a public made this decision when we voted to support the lottery in North Carolina," Cope said. "This is just the natural progression to regulate this industry to get that revenue income into the coffers of the state."

Video poker machines have left a legacy of corruption in the state. William Thevaos, president of the Entertainment Group of North Carolina, said the fact that the industry wants regulation and taxation shows that things will be different.

"We want to be taxed. We want to be legal," Thevaos said. "We want to create a new industry and we want to work with the state."

More after the jump.

   Comments (9)

It's not common that an interest group asks the government to tax it, but that's what the Video Poker industry did in a press release today.

Industry representatives say electronic gaming, which was made illegal in 2006, can bring the state $498 million in tax revenue if it is regulated and taxed, which they say can help alleviate the budget shortfall.

"We are the only association in the state asking the General Assembly to regulate and tax us and there are $498 million reasons to do so," said William Thevaos, president of the Entertainment Group of North Carolina, in the press release.

Recent state court decisions found that electronic gaming cannot be illegal in North Carolina if the state allows it on Native American reservations.

"If the General Assembly fails to provide some oversight, regulation and taxation on video lottery terminals, the state is going to lose millions of dollars and the hands of time will be turned back to the days of no regulation and that’s not where we need to go," Thevaos said.

Rep. Earl Jones, a Greensboro Democrat, brought a bill before the House finance committee earlier this session, but it was never put to a vote.