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Toledo Blade
Death by
regulation
Don't let the perfect become the enemy of the good: That’s the best you
can say about the Ohio House’s latest effort to get rid of the Internet
sweepstakes cafés that have sprung up all over the state.
The cafés sell prepaid phone cards or Internet time that customers can
use to play Web-based games. Winning earns them more Internet time, as
well as points that allow them to win money in sweepstakes. The winners
are predetermined.
Few rules govern the cafés’ activities. They don’t face the same
scrutiny — or pay the same taxes and fees — as casinos or race tracks
that have slot machines.
That sounded a lot like unregulated, illegal gambling to Ohio’s top
prosecutor, Attorney General Mike DeWine, who made closing the cafés a
goal and intimated he was prepared to defend an outright ban. More
recently, though, Mr. DeWine praised a bill sponsored by state Rep.
Matt Huffman (R., Lima) and passed by the House that is intended to
regulate the businesses out of existence.
Mr. Huffman’s original bill narrowed the definition of a sweepstakes to
exclude Internet cafés. The substitute bill takes a simpler approach:
It allows Web-based games at cafés, but removes the incentive to play
by banning cash payouts and restricting other prizes to a value of $10.
The bill was rushed through the House in the hope that the Senate would
act on it before the legislative session ends, probably this week. But
the bill’s fate in the Senate is unclear.
Read the rest of the article at the Toledo Blade
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