Internet caf s are not alone in ‘running under the radar’

When Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine visited a Dayton area Internet caf to highlight the absence of state regulations pertaining to such gambling establishments, he offered this observation: “These guys are running under the radar, quite frankly, and they’re making millions and millions and millions of dollars.”

But such joints aren’t the only ones operating without state government oversight. Establishments that have Tic Tac Fruit machines and other so-called games of skill are rarely targeted by law enforcement to ensure that they’re following the law with regard to payoffs to winners.

With Rock Gaming LLC and Penn National Gaming shelling out millions of dollars to the state for the right to operate five full-service casinos, Attorney General DeWine is right in contending that the Internet caf s should obtain licenses from the new casino-control commission.

“To me, it is a consumer issue, and these places are frankly consumer rip-offs,” DeWine said during his visit to Dayton. “When you go to a racetrack, the law says how much has to be paid back. When the new casinos are up, the law will say how much the slot machine have to pay back.”

The state does not know who owns the Internet gambling establishments, there are no background checks conducted on the operators, there is no guarantee of payoffs and there is no reason to believe that the caf s are charitable institutions, the attorney general said. That’s why a state law is required to classify sweepstakes machines as gambling devices. In that way, the Ohio Casino Control Commission would have the authority to certify and license the machines and the establishments.

That’s a necessary and fair step that needs to be taken to control for-profit gambling in the state.

But while DeWine and the General Assembly work on the new law, they would do well to explore just how effectively the law pertaining to games of skill is being administered.

While skill-based machines, such as Skee Ball and Whac-a-Mole, are permitted under Ohio statute, reports of violations with regard to the prizes persist.

No cash or gift cards can be given, and only merchandise with a wholesale value under $10 is allowed.

But, the proliferation of parlors with slot-machine-like terminals prompts this question: Does anybody believe that the parking lots are jammed because players are interested in improving their playing skills and love the merchandise they receive for winning?

Manpower shortage

We certainly aren’t buying that yarn. And neither are county prosecutors and police departments around the state. However, there just isn’t the manpower to conduct sting operations to ensure that cash payments aren’t being made.

Several years ago, it was estimated that the operators of the so-called games of skill were raking in more than $100 million a year.

Attorney General DeWine and the General Assembly need to determine whether such parlors are operating legitimately. If it is found that these gambling devices and the payoffs are no different than what will be found in the casinos and the horse-racing tracks, the state should also require them to be policed by the Ohio Casino Control Commission.