Perdue open to regulated video poker (News and Observer)
Gov. Bev Perdue, who signed into law Tuesday a ban on video sweepstakes games, said Wednesday she is open to regulating and legalizing the games.
Perdue made her comments after a signing ceremony for a different bill Wednesday. She signed the sweepstakes ban in private. On Wednesday, she said one of her concerns about the sweepstakes industry was the unchecked proliferation of parlors that allowed for profiteering.
“I think if you have video sweepstakes, whether it is video poker or video machines in general, we really do need to have some kind of concert organized, unified system of regulation where they are under a standard set of rules and regulations where we can be sure that nobody is profiteering from it,” Perdue said.
A spokeswoman later clarified that Perdue was open to ideas on how to regulate the industry, but was not actively pushing to legalize it.
That’s point of view opens a big gulf between Perdue and the lawmakers who voted for the ban. Many of them, particularly in the Senate, spoke of the industry as an evil that preys on the poor.
The industry says it could raise at least half a billion a year in revenue. Just before Perdue signed the bill, an industry group pleaded with Perdue to veto it.
Submitted by bniolet on 2010-07-21 11:57
