Barring a gubernatorial veto, video sweepstakes in North Carolina is over. The North Carolina House of Representatives passed a ban on gaming Wednesday by a vote of 86-27. The Senate approved the bill in June.

House bill 80, which was approved by the N.C. Senate by a 47-1 margin in June, will go to Gov. Bev Perdue’s desk to be signed into law.

It was originally sponsored by Rep. Melanie Goodwin (D-Richmond) as a measure to ban video poker machines. It was reworded to ban Internet sweepstakes gaming.

Opponents of the games claimed they disproportionately affected the poor and having them in businesses increased risk for property crimes such as armed robbery.

Those who supported the gaming industry touted it as a revenue generator for the state, which some predict will face a multi-billion dollar budget shortfall next year.

“We are asking the Legislature and Governor to work with us to regulate and tax this industry,” Entertainment Group of North Carolina President William Thevaos said in a press release preceding Wednesday’s floor debate on the bill. “It makes sense and it will provide a real revenue winner for the state.”

In the release, Thevaos cited estimates by the N.C. Education Lottery taxing video gaming in the state could generate up to $576 million, and asserted there’s no difference between “playing a $20 scratch off ticket or a $20 video sweepstakes game.”

State legislators passed a ban on video poker machines in 2006, but an injunction was issued against law enforcement officials in the state from seizing certain models of sweepstakes machines in 2009.

From August 2009 to the present date, the number of businesses offering video gaming exploded in Richmond County from a couple to a couple of dozen or more.

Convenience stores with one to two machines sit within yards of cafes that have two dozen or more of the terminals.

During debate on the Senate floor, N.C. Sen. Bill Purcell read a letter from a Richmond County constituent who works with a food bank about witnessing some of the clients of the charity entering an Internet cafe.

When confronted about spending money on gambling and not being able to afford food, the men reportedly told the non-profit worker their winnings would rescue them from their poverty.

Staff Writer Philip D. Brown can be reached at (910) 997-3111 ext. 32, or by e-mail at pbrown@yourdailyjournal.com.