Businesses being given a week to remove illegal video gaming machines
WLOS — Businesses in Rutherford and McDowell Counties that operate video gaming machines are being given seven days to have the machines removed.
On February 11, 2022, the North Carolina Supreme Court issued an opinion concerning the video sweepstakes machines currently being operated across North Carolina. They held that electronic gaming machines are illegal under North Carolina law even if they require some ‘skill or dexterity’ input from the player.
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District Attorney Ted Bell issued a statement Monday telling any business owners currently operating the machines to discontinue doing so.
“While we will prosecute violations of this law, I do understand that a lot of businesses have been operating under the belief that these machines are legal and therefore am giving a seven-day grace period to give time to have these machines removed,” Bell said in the release.
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Operating electronic gaming machines is a Class 1 misdemeanor for the first offense, a Class H felony for the second offense, and a Class G felony for the third and subsequent offenses.
