{"id":28854,"date":"2015-05-10T09:00:08","date_gmt":"2015-05-10T16:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=28854"},"modified":"2023-01-12T11:40:30","modified_gmt":"2023-01-12T17:40:30","slug":"north-carolina-sweepstakes-operators-must-be-out-by-july","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/north-carolina-sweepstakes-operators-must-be-out-by-july\/","title":{"rendered":"North Carolina Sweepstakes Operators Backing Out to Avoid the Law"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"North
North Carolina authorities have been battling with sweepstakes operators in the state for years. (Image: AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

North Carolina may not jump to most people’s minds when they think of contentious US gambling issues. But the reality is, sweepstakes cafes have been a major issue in numerous states, and nowhere has the battle over these establishments been more prominent than in North Carolina for the past eight years.<\/p>\n

Now, the state appears to have won a major victory against what it says are illegal gambling businesses, as six software providers have agreed to stop operating there.<\/p>\n

That announcement came from US Attorney Thomas Walker, who says it is the result of a deal reached between his office and the six companies. Under that understanding, Walker won\u2019t be prosecuting any of those companies or the individuals that own them, provided they completely cease operations by July 1.<\/p>\n

The six companies combined operated in over 600 locations in North Carolina. They include White Sands Technology LLC, Sierra Software LLC, TNT Software LLC, Digital Reveal LLC, Figure 8 Technologies Inc., and HSV Entertainment LLC.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe hope this action will be a big step forward in ensuring compliance with North Carolina\u2019s gambling laws,\u201d read a statement from Walker. \u201cOur office is prepared to assist the state in enforcing large scale violations of the law.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Fight Began in 2006<\/h2>\n

North Carolina authorities have been fighting against the spread of sweepstakes operations since 2006. That\u2019s when state lawmakers first put a ban against electronic gambling machines into place.<\/p>\n

However, operators of sweepstakes cafes have attempted to skirt around the law in order to provide legal games that do not quite satisfy the definition of gambling.<\/p>\n

Typically, players must make some sort of purchase in order to receive credits to play on one of the machines located at the business; in addition, winners are predetermined, with the games presented on screen only simulating the look of slot machines or other popular gambling games.<\/p>\n

That wasn\u2019t enough to convince North Carolina officials that these businesses were on the up-and-up, though. They argued that customers went to these establishments not to buy Internet time or phone cards, but rather to gamble, regardless of the exact nature of the games.<\/p>\n

Supreme Court Decision Also a Deterrent<\/h2>\n

The deal between Walker\u2019s office and the sweepstakes companies comes on the heels of the North Carolina Supreme Court\u2019s decision to deny the appeals from the owner and manager of one Internet cafe in Tarboro. Those individuals were first convicted in 2013 of running an illegal gambling operation, and the state Supreme Court has said that those convictions should be upheld.<\/p>\n

For officials in the state, they believe that this decision, along with the actions from the US Attorney\u2019s office, should make it easier to keep the sweepstakes industry under control.<\/p>\n

\u201cSweepstakes machines have been a source of problems for local law enforcement and the community for years,\u201d said Mark Senter, branch head of North Carolina Alcohol Law Enforcement, in a press release. \u201cIt is our hope this action eliminates this illegal activity.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis announcement marks a major milestone in the long and ongoing fight against illegal gambling,\u201d Cumberland Sheriff Earl Butler said in a statement. \u201cWe hope these agreements will stop and deter evasion of North Carolina\u2019s gambling laws. We have long been involved in this fight, and we will not stop until the laws passed by the legislature and the North Carolinians they represent are fully enforced.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

North Carolina may not jump to most people’s minds when they think of contentious US gambling issues. But the reality is, sweepstakes cafes have been a major issue in numerous states, and nowhere has the battle over these establishments been more prominent than in North Carolina for the past eight years. Now, the state appears […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":28860,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,13],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nNorth Carolina Sweepstakes Operators Backing Out to Avoid the Law<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"North Carolina will allow a deal between US Attorney Thomas Walker and state sweepstakes operators to avoid prosecution, as long as they close up shop.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/north-carolina-sweepstakes-operators-must-be-out-by-july\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"North Carolina Sweepstakes Operators Backing Out to Avoid the Law\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"North Carolina will allow a deal between US Attorney Thomas Walker and state sweepstakes operators to avoid prosecution, as long as they close up shop.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/north-carolina-sweepstakes-operators-must-be-out-by-july\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-05-10T16:00:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-01-12T17:40:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/North-Carolina-sweepstakes-shutdown-deal.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"860\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"553\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Casino.org Staff Writer\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Casino.org Staff Writer\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/north-carolina-sweepstakes-operators-must-be-out-by-july\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/north-carolina-sweepstakes-operators-must-be-out-by-july\/\",\"name\":\"North Carolina Sweepstakes Operators Backing Out to Avoid the Law\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/north-carolina-sweepstakes-operators-must-be-out-by-july\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/north-carolina-sweepstakes-operators-must-be-out-by-july\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/North-Carolina-sweepstakes-shutdown-deal.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-05-10T16:00:08+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-01-12T17:40:30+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8c48bf89dc86da77b4d856c7b3b78d77\"},\"description\":\"North Carolina will allow a deal between US Attorney Thomas Walker and state sweepstakes operators to avoid prosecution, as long as they close up shop.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/north-carolina-sweepstakes-operators-must-be-out-by-july\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/north-carolina-sweepstakes-operators-must-be-out-by-july\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/north-carolina-sweepstakes-operators-must-be-out-by-july\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/North-Carolina-sweepstakes-shutdown-deal.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/North-Carolina-sweepstakes-shutdown-deal.jpg\",\"width\":860,\"height\":553,\"caption\":\"North Carolina authorities have been battling with sweepstakes operators in the state for years. 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