Internet games issue not settled

Our Voice

By: Hickory Daily Record Editorial | Hickory Daily Record
Published: March 17, 2010

Internet sweepstakes games have created another societal schism.

Advocates say they're legal and harmless. Lawmakers and law officers say they're dangerous and illegal.

Burke County deputies shut down more than 50 Internet sweepstakes parlors last week.

Catawba County Sheriff David Huffman says he wants to get rid of the games here.

Those who play say they're no different than promotions at fast-food restaurants that offer free food and cash prizes — if you make a purchase.

A move is afoot in the general assembly to ban Internet sweepstakes. They victimize the poor who really can't afford them, lawmakers say.

That's possible, although proof is still sketchy.

Note that the state doesn't ask players for proof they can afford to buy lotto tickets and scratch-off games.

The courts may be the arbiter on the issue.

Preliminary court orders keeping sweepstakes parlors open in a couple of counties do not represent a blanket decision that affects all 100 North Carolina counties. A case will have to proceed throughout the state court system to arrive at a conclusion for the whole state.

The legislature can trump the courts, but a law doesn't require the same burden of proof as a successful lawsuit.

Are Internet sweepstakes games gambling or entertainment? Depends on who you ask.

For now, those who make laws say the games are evil. Law officers must follow the law.

The issue is far from settled.

Feds should consider free enterprise

The federal government wants to flex its muscle on broadband Internet access.

The Federal Communications Commission, with guidance from the Obama administration, wants more people to have broadband services.

America, the nation that gave the Internet to the world, is falling behind in Internet technology, say federal officials.

Has the FCC not heard of the Google experiment that hundreds of cities are rabidly courting?

Seems to us that free enterprise is much farther along than the government.

Perhaps the feds, fond of trumpeting the innovation and brilliance of American business and education, should stand back and let the professionals work.