There is news in both North Carolina and Massachusetts right now regarding sweepstakes machines. North Carolina kinda-sorta banned them on December 1 and Massachusetts is getting some more of them.

On December 1, North Carolina passed a ban of sweepstakes machines, though interestingly the state will continue to offer a lottery. The ban was then challenged and received conflicting rulings in court. Two different judges gave different interpretations of the ban, with one even saying that the machines are illegal if they are not “dependent on the skill or dexterity of the player.” Of course, sweepstakes are by definition games of chance that do not depend on player skill.

North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper sent a letter to law enforcement telling them that most of the ban reminds intact and that they can shut down machines that do not require skill. That would, of course, be all of them. So far, for the safety of players, the attorney general has yet to confiscate lottery tickets from convenience stories and raid the state lottery office.

In Massachusetts, it’s a completely different story. The Internet Sweepstakes Network (ISN) has announced that they will begin opening online sweepstakes cafes in the state. In the announcement to investors, the company said that they are offering investment opportunities for prices lower than the market value. In return, they ask that investors donate 10% of their net profits to a charity set up by the ISN, called SweepstakesCharity.org.

The contrary news coming from two different states serves as a microcosm of gambling in the United States. Some states are cracking down on sweepstakes machines, while others are installing more. Some states want to allow table games in full-fledged casinos while others want nothing to do with the casino industry. Some want to gamble online while others passed a ban of the activity. The variety in state laws and policies is one of the things that makes America great, but it can also be frustrating.

As the Great Recession continues and states look for ways to close budget shortfalls, many are turning toward their inner Libertarian. A more free market means a greater flow of money through the state. Taxing it provides more revenue for the states. Therefore, many states have learned (finally) that more freedom is good for the economy. For that reason, a handful of states are considering gambling expansion.

Other states aren’t interested and are instead trying to clamp down on the gambling that already exists. One such example is the state of North Carolina, the most liberal state in the south. Back in 2006, the state legislature banned video poker gambling machines. They exempted two models of sweepstakes machines, though, and those have been in operation ever since.

Now the state’s General Assembly wants to ban those sweepstakes machines as well. Democrats Melanie Goodwin and Martha Alexander have proposed House Bill 80, which would entirely ban video gambling in the Tar Heel State.

Why would they want to ban the sweepstakes machines? For your own good, of course! Like most liberal politicians, they feel they need to protect people from themselves. Some of the reasons they give for the proposed ban are that the games have low odds of winning (yet they still allow a state lottery), they prey upon the poor (yet they still allow a lottery), and that they lead to an increase in armed robbery, with people trying to steal from the machines. At the risk of being repetitive, let me just say “yet, they still allow a state lottery!”

Lotteries have incredibly low odds of winning, are played more by the poor than by the middle and upper classes, and are often the targets of robbery. However, the great state of North Carolina is more than happy to run the lottery and make money off of it. Maybe instead of banning the sweepstakes machines, they should just call them the North Carolina Sweepstakes and take most of the money while promising it will be used for education.