RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- North Carolina's highest court is about to decide whether that video sweepstakes cafes that often mimic casinos in big-city strip malls to country crossroads will disappear or multiply.
The state Supreme Court hears arguments Wednesday in two cases in which state attorneys defend a 2010 law banning video sweepstakes machines as a form of gambling. The state Court of Appeals struck down the ban in March.
A software developer and firms that market long-distance phone and Internet services contend their business is entitled to constitutional free-speech protections. A recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling protects video games just like books and films.
The case comes at a time the state's only casino recently expanded beyond video poker and slots and started hiring card dealers for live gaming.
