RALEIGH, N.C.  – Arcade machine owners who want to return to the video poker business in North Carolina say they want to remove the cloud hanging over the games.

A House judiciary committee heard about a bill Tuesday to legalize video gambling terminals again and give the state 20 percent of the profits. The Legislature banned the machines in July 2007, but there has been a series of legal rulings that threaten to invalidate the ban.

Video poker had been tainted because one of its biggest supporters was then-House Speaker Jim Black. He is in federal prison after pleading guilty to a corruption count unrelated to video poker.

No vote was taken on the bill Tuesday. There’s not much support from leaders in the House and Senate.

RALEIGH, N.C.  – North Carolina’s brief foray into video poker was marred by charges of corruption and influence. It triggered a yearslong fight that ended with the machines banned and a sheriff in prison.

Now, after many thought the issue was finally laid to rest, it’s emerging again amid legal uncertainty.

A judge’s decision this week to strike down North Carolina’s ban on video poker machines has rekindled the debate over awkward gaming laws. The state is expected to appeal, and for now North Carolina lawmakers are laying low and watching what happens in the courts.

But the case is being watched around the country as federal and state officials try manage agreements between sovereign states and tribal lands, all under the umbrella of an inconclusive federal law.

The N&O reports that a state court struck down North Carolina’s ban on video poker Thursday, ruling that it was unlawful to allow the machines on an Indian reservation but prohibit them in the rest of the state.