Under an anti-gambling statute passed in 1943, residents of North Carolina may not possess lottery tickets. Clearly, many of them do, because some of the busiest ticket outlets in South Carolina and Virginia are within a few miles of North Carolina borders.
Recently, South Carolina Governor Jim Hodges sent letters to North Carolina's governor, Senate president and House speaker, calling the law "arcane" and asking for the state to do something to ensure that North Carolinians can play South Carolina's lottery "without harassment."
Arrests for lottery-ticket possession are not rampant and transgressors are not being hunted down. But if they're arrested for something else, it can be added to the charges against them, as in the case of Michael Dean Atkins. He spent a weekend in a county jail in part because he had 20 lottery tickets in his possession.
Tar Heel legislators are expected to reconsider the law. "A lot of legislators said we do need to look at that," says an aide to Senator Pro Tem Marc Basnight. It certainly will be changed if North Carolina starts its own lottery, which Governor Mike Easley has called for to help the state out of a financial crisis.
Meanwhile, North Carolina officials bristle at the meddling by their neighbor. "I appreciate your willingness to share your concerns with us," Basnight wrote to Hodges, "and I wish you all the best in important matters of your own state that, no doubt, receive the same dedication and attention from your office as this matter has."
