Dann: Move machines out now

The mistaken information about three days’ grace probably came from an old news release.

YOUNGSTOWN — Owners of games of skill such as Tic Tac Fruit do not have three days to remove the machines and could be charged with a criminal offense immediately for failing to do so.

Leo Jennings, spokesman for Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann, said Saturday the law governing the ownership of the machines went into effect as soon as Gov. Ted Strickland signed it Thursday morning.

The law made operating the games a part of the criminal gambling statute and defined the games as slot machines, he said.

Individuals possessing or operating the machines face prosecution under either a felony or misdemeanor charge, Jennings added.

He speculated the information about having three days to remove the machines came from a press release the office issued Aug. 22 that outlined steps the attorney general took at that time to stop owners of such machines from labeling them a “skill-based amusement machine.”

Enforcement by the Ohio Department of Public Safety and local police agencies was possible as early as Thursday. Machine owners do not have three days to clear them out, Jennings repeated.

The new law is designed to shut down machines such as Tic Tac Fruit that depend on chance but require a certain level of skill. Lawmakers said the update was needed because machine owners took advantage of a law that banned machines based largely or wholly on chance.