COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Attorney General Mike DeWine says Ohio
has 667 Internet cafes, or more than twice the state’s earlier estimate
for the "sweepstakes" businesses, which offer games functioning like
slot machines with cash prizes.
The new count is based on
affidavits submitted by businesses under a law that created a one-year
moratorium on new Internet cafes, where customers can play largely
unregulated games. Customers pay for Internet time or phone cards and
use them to bet points on computers loaded with games such as poker.
DeWine
is pushing lawmakers to enact more regulations for such facilities. He
says the cafes could be generating hundreds of millions of dollars and
there’s no way to track where that money goes.
He says the cafes are primarily found in the northern half of the state.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Attorney General Mike DeWine says Ohio
has 667 Internet cafes, or more than twice the state’s earlier estimate
for the "sweepstakes" businesses, which offer games functioning like
slot machines with cash prizes.
The new count is based on
affidavits submitted by businesses under a law that created a one-year
moratorium on new Internet cafes, where customers can play largely
unregulated games. Customers pay for Internet time or phone cards and
use them to bet points on computers loaded with games such as poker.
DeWine
is pushing lawmakers to enact more regulations for such facilities. He
says the cafes could be generating hundreds of millions of dollars and
there’s no way to track where that money goes.
He says the cafes are primarily found in the northern half of the state.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.