Law enforcement in Catawba County has been fighting businesses featuring fish tables for years. Businesses that make money from fish game players say that these are games of skill, not chance.
In these games, players shoot images of fish swimming across video screens. In response, gaming companies tinkered with rules and software in efforts to get around the prohibitions. The legislature has passed several laws since 2000 to limit - and then ban - video poker and electronic sweepstakes.
As North Carolina legislators consider expanding casino gambling beyond those owned by American Indian tribes, the latest chapter in the years-long court battles over electronic sweepstakes in the state ended this week with a loss for gaming companies operating in Catawba County.
