Major GOP donor Bob Luddy asks NC lawmakers to vote against casinos, gambling

Influential Republican businessman and donor Bob Luddy is asking North Carolina state senators to reject contributions from the casino gambling industry, according to an open letter to lawmakers he released Tuesday. 

Luddy also asked legislators to vote against any attempt to expand casino gambling in the state. 

“Casino gambling corrupts everything it touches and creates long-term costs for law enforcement, Medicaid and families,” Luddy said in a statement. “I am asking lawmakers to refuse casino money and stand with voters who do not want gambling in North Carolina.”

In the letter, Luddy claimed the state’s economic success stems from low taxes, school choice and a “hospitable” environment for business expansion and jobs. 

Casinos would undermine that success, he said. 

Luddy publicly opposed the reelection bid of Republican Senate Leader Phil Berger, who lost in the primary election last month to Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page. 

The two candidates squared off over casinos, and some political observers say Berger’s earlier support for a casino project in his home county contributed to his upset. 

Luddy and his wife Maria each contributed $6,400 — the maximum allowed — to Page’s campaign in January 2026, in a sharp departure from the past. For many years, Luddy, a supporter of school choice and vouchers, had supported Berger. 

The businessman founded a handful of independent schools in the Triangle area: the Thales Academy network, St. Thomas More Academy and Franklin Academy at the primary and secondary levels. His most recent educational pursuit was Thales College, a private three-year institution in Wake Forest which graduated its first class in 2025. 

Luddy owns and founded CaptiveAire systems, a leading manufacturer of commercial kitchen ventilation systems in North America with over 2000 employees and 120 sales offices nationwide.