Ohio legislators ignore the obvious about Internet cafes

Recognizing that Ohio was en- tering a new era with the opening of the first of four legal gambling casinos in the state, the General Assembly rushed to pass legislation that would allow the state to regulate gambling operations.

That made perfect sense.

What doesn’t make sense is how the General Assembly allowed itself to get sidetracked. It is especially disconcerting that in taking up a bill to regulate gambling activities that were specifically authorized by the voters who approved a constitutional amendment, legislators of both parties felt a need to discuss gambling enterprises that are clearly outside Ohio’s constitutional boundaries.

We are talking about Internet cafes, which provide an experience that can combine the mechanics of an instant lottery ticket with the flash of a slot machine.

Where are such businesses authorized under the Ohio Constitution, which specifically prohibits gambling? The constitution was amended to allow creation of the Ohio Lottery Commission and the various gambling options therein. Exceptions have been carved out for some gambling that benefits charity. And, most recently, Ohio voters approved the construction of four full-service casinos in specific cities in the state. And that vote was no slam dunk, voters having rejected three previous constitutional amendments.

Now, however, the state appears to be giving de facto recognition of unlicensed Internet cafes by declaring a moratorium on such places. The bill passed by the Senate last week prohibited the opening of any new Internet “sweepstakes” cafes in the state between now and June 30, 2013.

That effectively allows the 280 or so cafes, many of them in Northeastern Ohio, free rein to continue doing what they’re doing — competing with the state’s legal lottery, legal charitable gambling and the state’s newest gambling enterprises, the casinos.

For years, this newspaper resisted the expansion of gambling in the state out of fear that the enormous amounts of money involved in gambling too easily leads to corruption of public officials. Also, the money spent on gambling is either discretionary income — which will be siphoned from other venues, such as restaurants, theaters and sporting events — or it is money that addicted gamblers spend with no regard for their own needs or those of their families.

The people’s choice

Nonetheless, the people of Ohio spoke, and gambling will be expanding in the state.

The Horseshoe Casino opened in Cleveland Monday with great fanfare and positive reviews. The project saved a historic structure, the old Higbee Department Store, created 2,000 construction jobs and is employing about 1,600 people. Hundreds of millions of dollars will be spent in Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Toledo. Given that investment, we’re surprised that the casino owners haven’t taken a more active role in opposing the operation of low-budget storefront operations that have the potential of siphoning off tens of millions of dollars in potential income.

We’re even more surprised that the Ohio Lottery Commission and the network of lottery outlets in grocery stores, convenience stores and drive-up outlets haven’t been more vocal about the threat from low-budget unregulated operations.

And we’re amazed that local school districts and teacher unions haven’t taken note of the fact that as the state lottery’s legal profits fall, so will the amount the state has to divvy out.

The Senate’s moratorium did not go as far as Sen. Joe Schiavoni, D-Canfield, wanted to go in specifically legalizing and regulating internet cafes. But it still represents a missed opportunity — an opportunity to acknowledge that Ohio voters have carved out specific exceptions to the constitution’s prohibition of gambling. No one in Ohio ever voted to legalize Internet cafes.