Destination casino bill is dead, sponsor says
February 3, 2012Palm Beach County OKs temporary ban on internet gambling cafes
February 24, 2012No Casinos doubles down against Internet cafes
“Regulating Internet cafés instead of shutting them down is bad public policy,” he said. It would legitimize them and threaten the state’s gambling compact with the Seminole Tribe, which pays the state about $200 million each year for the exclusive right to certain forms of gambling, he argues.
No Casinos doubles down against Internet cafes
By Brent Batten
Naples Daily News
No Casinos really takes this no casinos business to heart.
After successfully lobbying for the defeat of a bill that would have brought giant resort casinos to Florida, the advocacy group No Casinos has set its sights much lower, now advocating for the prohibition of storefront slot machine palaces — sometimes called Internet cafes — that dot the urban landscape like so many mini marts.
“Even supporters of the destination casino legislation decried that fact that Internet cafés have popped up throughout Florida,” said No Casinos President John Sowinski. “It is time to pass legislation to shut down these gambling houses that operate in a legal gray area and because they have never been sanctioned by the Legislature or the voters.”
House Bill 3 would ban operations that get around laws against gambling by offering gift cards and coupons instead of cash payouts. It has a companion bill in the Senate that would regulate, rather than outright ban, the establishments. Sowinski says that’s unfortunate.
“Regulating Internet cafés instead of shutting them down is bad public policy,” he said. It would legitimize them and threaten the state’s gambling compact with the Seminole Tribe, which pays the state about $200 million each year for the exclusive right to certain forms of gambling, he argues.
The storefront slot halls can be found around Collier County with names like Winners and Vegas Casinos South. Inside retirees while away the hours pressing buttons and watching dazzling light displays for as little as eights cents per spin.
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