Raleigh, N.C. – Despite a legal challenge to the state’s ban on video poker and a rise in sweepstakes games that are similar in nature to video poker, a majority of voters in North Carolina are opposed to legalizing the games according to a new poll released today by the Civitas Institute.
According to the live caller poll of 600 likely voters, 56 percent of voters surveyed said they opposed legalizing video poker while 33 percent said they support it. Eleven percent of voters said they were not sure.
It is opposed by voters of all political parties: Democrats 54% – 34%, Republicans 59% – 30%, and unaffiliateds 54% – 37%.
“Even though sweepstakes games continue to spread across North Carolina, the voters do not support legalizing video poker at this time,” said Civitas Institute Executive Director Francis De Luca.
However, there is a distinct difference in opinion based on age. The younger a person is, the more likely they are to support legalization. Among 18-25 year olds, legalization is actually supported 51%-43%, but among people over 66 it is opposed 25%-62%.
There is a distinct split in the sexes on legalizing video as well, with women much more opposed (64%) than men (47%).
“While there is overall opposition to legalizing video poker, there are pockets of support among certain demographic groups that could change the perception of this issue as time goes on,” added De Luca.
The Civitas Poll is the only monthly live-caller poll of critical issues facing North Carolina. For more polling information on Civitas polling see www.nccivitas.org/media/poll-results/.
Full text of question:
Do you support or oppose legalizing video poker in North Carolina?
Support – 33%
Oppose – 56%
Not Sure – 11%
Click here for full results and crosstabs.
This poll of 600 likely general election voters in North Carolina was conducted Jan. 19-21 by Tel Opinion Research of Arlington, Virginia. All respondents were part of a fully representative sample of registered voters in North Carolina. For purposes of this study, voters we interviewed had to have voted in either the 2004, 2006 or 2008 general elections or were newly registered voters since 2008.
The confidence interval associated with a sample of this size is such that: 95 percent of the time, results from 600 interviews (registered voters) will be within +-4% of the “True Values.” True Values refer to the results obtained if it were possible to interview every person in North Carolina who had voted in either the 2004, 2006 or 2008 general elections or were newly registered voters since 2008.
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