NC High Court Upholds Law Banning Internet Cafés

 

Orlando – Last week the Supreme Court of North Carolina upheld a law passed by the North Carolina General Assembly banning electronic gambling at so called “internet cafés” in the state.

When the law was passed in 2010, internet café operators challenged it claiming the law was an “unconstitutional restriction on their freedom of speech.” The Court of Appeals sided with them and struck the law down as unconstitutional. This recent decision by the state Supreme Court concludes, “the legislation regulates conduct and not protected speech” and has reversed the lower court’s decision.

“We applaud the North Carolina General Assembly for banning so called ‘internet cafés’ in their state and urge the Florida Legislature to do the same thing here,” said John Sowinski, President of No Casinos, Inc. “The fact of the matter is these shady establishments skirt state gambling laws by describing their activity as “sweepstakes” rather than what it is – unauthorized electronic gambling,” continued Sowinski.

In 2012 the Florida House of Representatives passed a bill that would have banned Internet sweepstakes cafés in Florida – but the bill died when the Florida Senate did not act on it.

Click here to see a copy of the North Carolina Supreme Court ruling.