North Carolina Crushes Sweepstake Cafes
Written by Roger S | Friday, July 23rd, 2010
Governor Bev Perdue of North Carolina was true to her word and finalized a bill this week that will essentially shut down sweepstakes cafés in the state for good. Until now, these cafés were operating only through a legal loophole, but Perdue was determined to see the back of them. Her position is backed by many in North Carolina who consider that gambling in any form is dangerous and therefore not welcome in the state.
There are around 600 businesses across North Carolina that operate cafés where slot machines and cards are played over the internet. A loophole in the legal system has thus far allowed them to offer these services, however Perdue’s efforts saw an end to this.
All cafés need to be legally shut down by December 1st, 2010.
Before reaching a final verdict to crush sweepstake cafés once and for all, there were proposals to possibly regulate them instead, however the idea was rejected outright by opponents in this conservative state.
Operators of these cafés are being left frustrated by the decision, and many have vowed to move across the border into Virginia and take their business there instead. “People are not going to stop gambling because you don’t want this,” said one café operator. “What we’ll do is go to Virginia and take our tax dollars to Virginia.”
Other players expressed anger over the government’s interference into their personal choice of entertainment. “We know where the limit is,” said one player. “We’re not going to come in here and lose our houses. We haven’t lost them until now.”
They also spoke of the government’s double standards, saying that it didn’t make sense to bar sweepstakes cafés when the lottery and alcohol are legal.
“Trust us citizens of North Carolina,” appealed one player. “Trust us!”
Other Articles Published on CompatiblePoker.com
· Written by Roger S · Filed Under Poker News · Comments Off
