The Statesville City Council will vote on whether or not to pull the reins back a little bit on what city leaders say is a crop of new electronic gaming operations that have opened in Statesville in the past several months.
"These things have grown like mushrooms all over the state," Planning Director David Currier said at Thursday's city council pre-agenda meeting.
Assistant Planning Director Sherry Ashley said Statesville is home to five of the operations. She said they were located on Sullivan Street, North Pointe Boulevard, Signal Hill Drive and Front Street (where two are located).
Police Chief Tom Anderson said they are allowed to function because of some "loopholes in the state statutes."
Anderson said that the electronic games are legal because they are not technically "games of chance."
He explained that because the machines' internal computers actually "know" when they are going to pay out, the chance factor is eliminated.
Anderson also said that winners are not paid in actual money, but with phone cards and cash cards.
He said that a matter concerning the legality of the machines is currently in the state's court of appeals and that some members of the General Assembly are working on legislation to close the loopholes.
Currier's recommendation to the city council is to limit the hours of operation for the gaming centers to between 8 a.m. and midnight seven days a week (as opposed to 24 hours per day, seven days per week) and to set a maximum of 20 machines per establishment.
The ordinance would also establish boundaries between the gaming operations and other types of businesses as well as churches, schools, libraries, playgrounds, parks or cemeteries.
When asked by a Mayor Costi Kutteh if the gaming operations generated a lot of calls to the police department, Anderson said they had not.
The Statesville City Council will discuss this matter and others at its regular meeting at 7 p.m. Monday in the City Hall building on corner of Front and Center streets.
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