The Laurinburg City Council voted Tuesday to hike privilege license fees for the internet gaming establishments.
Council placed fees at $2,000 per establishment and tacked on an additional $2,500 per computer or terminal.
In a 4-1 vote, with Councilman Curtis Leak was the lone dissenter.
The fees went into effect immediately for all new licenses issued. Those who currently have privilege licenses will not have to pay the higher fees until they renew business licenses before July 1.
Anyone caught running the sweepstakes business without the proper privilege licenses with be closed by city police, according to officials.
Mayor Matthew Block said the council had to act with 24 businesses opening recently in the city limits and more than three dozen springing up around Scotland County
"I think it is important," Block said. "I have heard a lot of citizens voice their concerns about the rapid spread of these establishments. I think the general consensus is that these things are not healthy for the community."
Laurinburg is not alone in facing the precipitous rise of sweepstakes operators, the mayor said.
"It is a new phenomenon and every community is struggling, we are not alone in our desire to get a handle on this and this is our initial step to slow the growth of these type of establishments."
Beautification is one of the many reasons to slow the spread of these establishments, according to Block.
"I think from a community appearance standpoint, I don't think having internet cafes on main thoroughfares projects the image of wholesome community as we would like to have projected."
The prevalence of the online gaming establishments makes it easy for people to fall victim to gambling addiction, according to Block.
"While some people will make the argument that people who are going to gamble are going to gamble no matter what, I think that statistics and research shows that the more accessible and available are, the more people are going to gamble," Block said. "I think many households have been affected negatively by someone in the family who can not avoid gambling who otherwise was not gambling before these things were put into place."
In the past, the mayor has also listed crime associated with internet cafes as a reason to regulate or tax local online gambling businesses.
Leak felt the move was too hasty and didn't allow the residents to comment.
"We are not being fair to all the citizens," Leak said. "We didn't give everybody an opportunity to have some input on the situation."
The senior councilman said he'd received several calls against the fee hike.
"They didn't want an ordinance," Leak said. "They wanted to go into business. Now we are making it too expensive for the little man to go into business."
The Laurinburg City Council also:
• Approved continuing a contract with Washington-lobbyist Marlowe & Company. The company is seeking funding streams for the Laurinburg-Maxton Airport runway project. The $24,000 cost is split between Laurinburg, the airport and the town of Maxton.
• Set public hearings for two zoning requests, one that would rezone a 1.38 acre tract on U.S. 401 from general business to industrial and one that would rezone an 8.97 acre tract on McColl Road from general business to residential-16. Those hearings will be on March 16.
• Set a public hearing on March 16 for a conditional use permit to operate a carnival in the old Winn Dixie parking lot.
• Authorized city tax collector Jan Morrison to advertise tax liens on March 8 in The Laurinburg Exchange. She reported $274,797.67 in unpaid taxes to the city. Morrison told council that March 5 will be the last day people can pay their taxes to avoid having their names printed.
• Scheduled the Laurinburg Public Input session for March 18 at 7 p.m. and a joint meeting between council and city staff to discuss budget priorities on March 8 at 5 p.m. Both are to be held at the City Council Chambers in the Laurinburg Municipal Building.
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