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Banned: Debate rages as state pulls plug on Internet gamingJul 09, 2010 (The Wilson Daily Times - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Michelle R. Linton goes to Internet cafes twice a week on average and stays a couple of hours at a time when she goes. Linton said stopping by an Internet cafe on her way home after working all night is not the government's business, and she wishes legislators would butt out of her life. Linton, who lives in Wilson but works at a hospital in another city, said sometimes the cafe is how she winds down before heading home. "Sometimes I play a few games and go home," Linton said. "I think that is my business how I spend my money." On Wednesday, the N.C. House of Representatives voted 86 to 27 to ban electronic sweepstakes companies or Internet cafes. State Rep. Joe P. Tolson, D-Pinetops, voted to ban electronic sweepstakes. Representative Jean Farmer-Butterfield, D-Wilson, had an excused absence and did not vote. Gov. Bev Perdue will get the bill to sign into law later this month. With the new law, Internet cafes will have to close their doors at the end of the year. Cities across the state have been coming up with rules to regulate Internet cafes as they have popped up practically overnight. Wilson City Council voted to have all new Internet cafes open in industrial areas of the city. The city came up with the regulation after four opened their doors. Linton said she can't understand why legislators are so set against Internet cafes when North Carolina has a government-run lottery. "When I go to buy gas I see people there buying those scratch-offs," Linton said. "What if I said to the gas station they should not have those people there gambling. Gambling is gambling, if it is in a gas station or at a sweepstakes place." John Hood, president of the John Locke Foundation, agrees. "I think the legislature is making a mistake, but I'm not surprised," he said. "They are saying they have a moral revulsion for gambling as they protect the state's mechanism for gambling -- the North Carolina lottery. They have voted in favor of prohibition." Agnes Speight, Wilson assistant city manager, said the city has no official statement yet on how it will work to comply with the law. "We're going to take a look and see what the law means," Speight said. "The governor hasn't signed it yet." Wilson City Councilman Donald Evans said he thinks to allow gambling is wrong, whether in an Internet cafe or by state-sponsored lottery. "Some people can't afford to gamble and use money they need, like grocery money, on the idea of making a lot of money," Evans said. "What the state has is legalized gambling. It's the same thing. I'm not in favor of any gambling." Evans said each person is responsible for what they do in life, such as gambling. But he said if you provide a place for people to gamble, they will do so, and they will lose money. "They didn't build all of those beautiful shiny buildings in Las Vegas with people winning money," Evans said. "Some people can't afford to lose their money." The law may not be the end of Internet cafes in North Carolina. Hood said even though Internet cafes are supposed to close in December, he would not be surprised if there isn't some loophole discovered for Internet cafe owners to use. "The state thought they had stopped gambling when they made video poker illegal, and people found a way around it," Hood said. William Thevaos, president of the Entertainment Group of North Carolina, which supports and operates Internet cafes, expressed disappointment in the state's vote Wednesday. "We continue to believe that regulating and taxing video gaming is the best public policy for the state of North Carolina," Thevaos said in a statement issued after the vote. "We will look at all options available to us, including our legal avenues and the advances of technology as we follow the implementation of this law allowing the industry to continue to do business." [email protected] -- 265-7847 To see more of The Wilson Daily Times or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.wilsondaily.com/. Copyright (c) 2010, The Wilson Daily Times, N.C. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com, e-mail [email protected], or call 866-280-5210 (outside the United States, call +1 312-222-4544). |