North Carolina Lawmakers Seek To Alter Video Poker Gambling Ban

North Carolina lawmakers have been battling against what they believe are illegal gambling machines for years. Whenever they create a law, the establishments running the video poker machines find a loophole to continue to operate the games.

On Monday, lawmakers will take another stab at closing those loopholes. In 2006, video poker machines were outlawed in North Carolina, but a Superior Court Judge ruled that because machines that were seized since the ban serve multi-purposes, law enforcement could not confiscate the machines.

The machines in question have become popular around the US. Internet cafes have popped up using the machines. The cafes sell Internet air time, and then customers can log on to a computer and find the sweepstakes games of chance.

Several states have had their law enforcement officials crack down on these Internet cafes, but North Carolina, to date, has been unsuccessful in eliminating the machines. House Bill 80 was originally proposed by Representative Melanie Wade Goodwin last year.

Internet sweepstakes games were not covered in the original bill, so Goodwin altered the legislation to include a ban on the new form of gambling. On Monday, lawmakers will discuss the revisions in the bill and decide whether to move forward with the proposed law.

The legislators who believe these Internet sweepstakes games should be illegal point to the addiction possibilities. The fear of crime is also a hot topic, with over a dozen robberies on these Internet cafes over the past couple of years.

Several lawmakers believe that the bill will easily pass in the Senate, but it will be the House that may turn the legislation away. Millions of dollars in revenue as at stake when the final decision is made.

June 20, 2010
Posted By April Gardner
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
Submit News!

Massachusetts Senate Gambling Bill Leaves Out Slots At Tracks
First Illegal Immigrants, Now Illegal Gambling Machines In Arizona
Georgia Attorney General Seeking Gambling Expansion
Churches Allowed To Keep Gambling Options Under Ohio Law
Ohio Racetracks Pushing For Slots And Repeal Of Gambling Law