North Carolina's gambling industry resembles the arcade game Whac-A-Mole. No sooner does the state whack it down than it pops back up.
Unfortunately, much more is at stake in the effort to subdue commercial gambling than in the game where we vent our stress on the head of an inanimate mole.
Video poker has been a scourge on North Carolinians. The game emigrated here, in large measure, after South Carolina banned it about a decade ago. The game is hypnotizing and vile. It lures players and their coins for hours on end. And when the game ends, many folks have spent their grocery money.
In addition, the state's law-enforcement officers strongly opposed video-poker operations, saying they were often a legal front for illegal gambling. Operators violated state law in the size and nature of their prizes, the state's sheriffs and police chiefs said.
The General Assembly took years to outlaw video poker. Only after former House Speaker Jim Black was investigated on the suspicion that he was getting illegal campaign contributions from the video-poker industry did the legislature act. But even with that whack down, the amusement machine industry continues to look for ways to get around the law.
The N.C. Court of Appeals closed one of those avenues in December when it ruled that state law could outlaw video-poker machines in all places but the Smoky Mountains casino run by the Eastern Band of Cherokee. It's perfectly legal, the three-judge panel ruled, because federal law opened the door for such preference to the Cherokee.
But while pursuing that avenue, the amusement-machine industry has also found a loophole in state law that legislators must close in the spring -- even if it means we can't get a free scratch-off game ticket at our favorite fast-food restaurant.
The machine operators have restructured their games. Players now purchase minutes for long distance and Internet service and get access to sweepstakes "for free" as a supposed sales inducement -- much like the sticker on a fast-food drink cup offers a chance for a free burger. A judge has already ruled that the method is legal.
Legislative leaders have been reluctant to close that loophole for fear of harming the many legitimate businesses that use sweepstakes as an honest sales gimmick.
If video poker and other commercial gambling cannot be eradicated short of banning the more legitimate sweepstakes, then the legislature will just have to take the necessary action. We may all lose the added attraction of a chance to win while we eat lunch, but video poker cannot be allowed to re-establish itself in North Carolina.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement