Well the issue is settle; at least in North Carolina.   There has been a lot of controversy over Internet Cafes that allow customers to engage in online gambling.  But the difference between these Internet Cafes and online casinos is that these cafes do not reward winners with money.  They offer either free phone time or free computer time.

A judge in North Carolina has ruled that, though these cafes walk on a thing legal line, they are not in violation of the law and law enforcement must stop harassing them.  The law in North Carolina prohibits online gambling for money.  So that means if these online casinos are offering stuffed animals like a carnival they are not violating North Carolina law.

As the law is written North Carolina law enforcement has nothing to go on.  Online casino legislation needs clarification to be affective; both for the benefit of law enforcement and online casinos themselves.  For now Internet cafes benefit from the language and law enforcement has been asked to look the other way.

Needless to say Internet Cafes in North Carolina are very excited about this victory.  Now they expect to make real profit on their version of online casinos; especially since the whole thing no longer needs to be kept under wraps. 

Some cafes are offering indirect access to cash.  While players are typically playing for free phone or computer minutes, many of these cafes allow players to redeem their rewards for cash.  That must be incredibly frustrating to law enforcement, but it seems like a victimless crime for the most part.