Monday, July 23, 2012
Two weeks ago, Attorney General Mike DeWine said that the state had 667 Internet sweepstakes businesses, including 70 in the Mahoning Valley.
Last week, DeWine upped the ante by another 105 sweepstakes joints whose owners subsequently filed affidavits with his office. So we’re at 772 and counting.
And yet, some members of the Legislature and DeWine continue to talk about the explosion of Internet cafes only in tterms of demonstrating the need for some sort of statewide regulation.
We have yet to hear anyone in Columbus explain how the operation of these businesses, which basically combine elements of an instant lottery ticket with a slot-machine-like video terminal, are legal under the Ohio Constitution.
It is as if everyone in Columbus is:
Unable to read the Constitution, which continues to prohibit gambling in the state, with the exception of the Ohio Lottery Commission and its operations and the four casinos that were specifically approved by the voters, or
Unwilling to make the effort that would be necessary to shut down unconstitutional gambling operations in the state.
If there is another explanation, we’d like to hear it.
DeWine points out that it is now a safe bet that there are more Internet sweepstakes terminals operating in Ohio than there are slot machines and VLTs at casinos and racetracks. So whose fault is that?
These operations have become so entrenched that local police departments and local prosecutors appear to be reluctant to take them on. Some of their defenders now speak of them as part of the community — a new strata of job creators in a period of economic uncertainty when it is argued that any job is better than no job. And the Legislature and attorney general talk about regulating the games so that gamblers have a fair chance — just like at a real casino.
Constitution is clear
But the underlying fact remains that the voters of Ohio never approved an exception to the Ohio Constitution’s clear statement that gambling “shall forever be prohibited in this State.”
Twenty years ago a fellow named Alan Spitzer went around the state trying to drum up support for an amendment to the Ohio Constitution that would have allowed him to build a casino in Lorain. That effort failed, as did others that appeared on the ballot until voters approved an amendment in 2008 that allowed construction of casinos in Cleveland, Columbus, Toledo and Cincinnati.
Spitzer missed the boat. If he had followed the successful model of today’s Internet cafes, he would have simply opened his casino and waited for the Legislature to start talking about ways to regulate it.
Would that have worked? We seriously doubt it. But why is it working for nearly 800 mini-casinos in storefronts across Ohio?