Crackdown starts on Charlotte arcades after NC gambling case settlement
In a shift from how police have handled local arcades and fish games, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department is cracking down on suspected illegal gambling.
The move comes on the heels of a recent North Carolina Supreme Court ruling.
For the last several years, police departments in North Carolina have been temporarily blocked from prosecuting those who run arcades, said Kevin Triola, a sergeant with CMPD’s Alcoholic Beverage Control unit. The restraining order was part of a lawsuit brought against North Carolina law enforcement by the owners of the arcades.
In the Charlotte area, the table game “fish games” are by far the most popular type. It’s a video arcade — similar to a target shooting game — that can accommodate multiple players.
North Carolina gambling laws are strict and generally gambling is allowed exclusively with the state-run lottery, inside casinos owned by Native American tribes, and with some bingo or raffle activities.
Now that a major court case involving the games has been settled, police are investigating the arcade businesses once again.
In the Supreme Court case, State vs. Sandhill Amusement, the court upheld existing state law that dictates a game is illegal if it pays cash winnings on a game based mostly on the player’s luck — not their skill. Carve-outs exist for state-sanctioned gambling venues.
Skill games are those that require some level of skill or talent to win, and games of chance are random.
The case was settled last year and there were no more temporary restraining orders police were waiting on, Triola said.
Now, a unit made up of eight CMPD detectives is working in partnership with the ABC unit, and the United States Secret Service, to investigate and prosecute arcades operating skill games that violate the law, Triola said.
Arcades in Charlotte
Over the last couple of years “skill games” arcades have opened at an increasing rate around Charlotte, Triola said.
“There’s been more and more and more of them,” Triola said. ”And obviously, as they become more and more profitable, more people are going to want to get on board with it.”
The arcades involved in CMPD’s crackdown are adults only facilities, and some in Charlotte have become concerned that they are creating more danger in the community.
Arcades are often associated with a high frequency of robberies, shootings and other crimes, says Eddie Caldwell, attorney with the N.C. Sheriff’s Association in a previous interview with the Observer.
The arcades typically operate for 24-hours a day, employ their own security team, and have large amounts of cash on hand.
There have been deadly robberies and homicides in many arcades across the state including in Charlotte, Burlington, Salisbury and Greensboro. And, the amount of cash inside, police say, attracts criminals, the Observer previously reported.
Just over three months ago, one person was killed at an arcade in Charlotte in a shooting.
CMPD’s main goal with what they describe as a crackdown, is to educate business owners on the rules and laws surrounding the skill games and to gain voluntary compliance, Triola said.
“If over a set period of time that we gave them there was no voluntary compliance [then we are] going to come after them criminally for that,” Triola said.
CMPD has continued to send out letters demanding voluntary compliance with the law, and they have seen some businesses take advantage of the grace period, Triola said. Overall, the department hopes to see a reduction in the number of arcades in Charlotte.
“We’ve spoken with a lot of places that have gone ahead and closed already,” Triola said.
Letters were sent to all known arcade and sweepstakes establishments in the area on November 10 and 11th, CMPD officials said.
“Several locations closed within days, some were observed moving equipment from the locations,” a spokesperson said. “Of the locations that closed some have now reopened.”
If a location cited for illegal gambling fails to remove the illegal equipment then a criminal investigation will occur and the appropriate criminal charges will be sought as well as ABC violations, the department spokesperson said.
Possession and Operation of less than five machines is a misdemeanor.
Homeland Security, the Secret Service, and The Mecklenburg District Attorney’s Office are all partnered with CMPD on the crackdown, Triola said.
This story was originally published December 16, 2022 at 11:53 AM.
