RALEIGH, N.C. — When some people think about gaming, they might think about someone alone in their basement. Kasey Karr says the industry has come a long way from that idea.

“Through online gaming and different evolutions in the types of games that are really popular, it definitely is becoming more and more a community sport,” Karr said.

She knows that to be true because of the experiences in her own life. Before the pandemic shut them down, Karr and her brother, Kris Karr, were part of Raleigh Premier Gaming.

Kris Karr and his friends started the business as a way to bring people together through video games.

“We’d go set up a game night at a brewery or a restaurant where it was maybe a slower night for them, and it’d be an opportunity for us to go in there and bring our equipment in and bring some of the classic stuff back, and even some of the new stuff, do special tournaments,” Kris Karr said.

Even though they aren’t organizing events anymore, they’re excited about the future of esports in the state. There’s a bill that would create tax credits for production companies that film competitions in the state.

The bill would also fund the building of an esports training and education center at North Carolina State University and fund The Board Of Governors to also purchase a mobile unit.

With a strong technology and gaming base already in the Triangle, the Karrs say this could really benefit the gaming community.

“I think there’s opportunity at the high-end level, but there’s also a lot of opportunities at the mid level,” Kris Karr said. “So, if there’s incentives to come and create a space where these people can go and take advantage of that, that would be extremely important.”