

The Caldwell County Sheriff’s Office has investigated and made arrests inside local gaming businesses over the past few years. In court, both arcade and police attorneys often call expert forensic witnesses to weigh in on whether a machine’s inner-workings prove the game is based on pure chance or a player’s skill. Aaron Barlow, supervisor of the investigative division at the Caldwell County Sheriff’s Office. Historically, it’s taken a judge in North Carolina and years of legal jousting to determine whether a gambling machine complies with the legal definition of “skill.” In the case of sweepstakes, lawsuits and challenges to the state law started more than five years ago and still aren’t settled in all jurisdictions.įish games, too, are “going to be an argument in court one day,” predicts Capt. Exchange of scores or “tallies” in the game for money is not allowed. Legal amusement games, according to the agency, can only offer prizes or merchandise worth $10 or less. In response to the Observer’s questions, the SBI cited North Carolina’s law against “slot machines” and other video games where people bet money. Similarly, the SBI - which has special agents to investigate gambling in North Carolina - would not say specifically whether fish games violate the law.

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But when asked by the Observer, the AG’s office would not say whether the games violate state gambling laws or whether it has given any advice to District Attorneys in the state on how to handle criminal charges related to fish games. The Attorney General’s Office, which often assists local police in prosecuting crimes, said it’s aware of fish games. In North Carolina, fish tables have taken off the last 18 months, police say. In the United States, news reports show law enforcement officials have raided fish arcades in places like Hawaii, Colorado, California and Florida.
