The Royal Palace Theatre is currently reviewing a state Supreme Court decision today that upholds a ban on video sweepstakes.

Jay Hickey, one of the partners of HSV Entertainment told rrspin.com, “The Royal Palace Theatre has always operated within the laws of North Carolina and will continue to do and is currently reviewing the Supreme Court’s decision.”

Roanoke Rapids City Manager Joseph Scherer said the city has received the information and is waiting on further word. “We’re waiting on what steps the gaming industry might take on this issue and waiting on further word to see what develops.”

The gaming portion of the theater is a key part of the operation, that helps offset costs of booking shows, theater management has said in prior interviews.

The News & Observer of Raleigh reported the state Supreme Court today upheld the state’s ban on video sweepstakes machines, overturning the state Appeals Court rulings that said regulating the games violated the Constitutional right to free speech.

The newspaper reported the legislature has repeatedly tried to outlaw video poker and other forms of gaming, but sweepstakes parlors found ways around the laws. A dozen companies sought to overturn a 2010 law banning video sweepstakes.

Lawyers for gaming companies presented the sweepstakes as a means of attracting customers for long-distance phone minutes or Internet services. Customers who buy Internet or phone minutes get the chance to use in-house computers to search for cash or other prizes.

The N&O reported in its opinion, the court said the sweepstake companies “have attempted to ‘skillfully disguise’ conduct with a facade of speech to gain First Amendment protection for their conduct.”

The legislature made a policy decision within its purview, the opinion says, “and we decline to weigh in on that decision other than to conclude that it is constitutional because there is a rational basis for it.”

A representative from the sweepstakes industry told the N&O the companies would modify their operations to continue their businesses.

“We are certainly disappointed in the ruling from the North Carolina Supreme Court,” said Chase Brooks, a sweepstake operator in Alamance County and president of the Internet Based Sweepstakes Operators, in a statement. “We maintain that video sweepstake games are no different than traditional sweepstake games offered by restaurant chains, soft-drink companies and publishing houses. The operators and software companies will now look at the law and our operating systems to see how we can adjust our computer programs and business models to continue operations. We will look at morphing into whatever we need to be under the rule of law to continue our business.”