COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Opponents of an Ohio law thateffectively bans storefront sweepstakes parlors
have submitted enoughsignatures to block the law from taking effect on Wednesday.Thesignatures still have to
be verified by local elections boards. But thepetitions, from the Committee to Protect Ohio Jobs, will keep
the lawfrom kicking in at least temporarily while the signatures are checked.Thegroup filed almost 434,000
signatures in its effort to put the measureto a repeal vote next year, according to Secretary of State Jon
Husted’soffice. The committee needs more than 231,000 valid signatures to placea referendum on the November
2014 ballot.If the committeereaches the required number of signatures, enforcement of the law issuspended
until voters have a say as to whether it should be tossed out.In the 14-month interim, so-called Internet
cafes could operate in thestate.Committee spokesman Matt Dole said the group is confidentit met the state’s
rules, although it’s prepared to gather additionalsignatures in necessary.Ohioans Against Illegal Gambling,
whichis backed by casinos, urged county boards on Tuesday to carefullyscrutinize the signatures. The group
has claimed that signaturegatherers have misrepresented the referendum’s purpose."We alsoask
individuals who may have signed these petitions under falsepretenses to contact their local county board of
elections and havetheir names removed," group spokesman Carlo LoParo said in a writtenstatement.Husted
has directed county boards of election to finish validating signatures by Sept. 20.Acount by the Ohio
attorney general’s office found that more than 620Internet cafes are in operation across the state,
representing growingcompetition to legalized casinos and games held for charity.Atthe storefronts, patrons
buy cards for phone and Internet time withchances to play computer games that operate like slot machines
with cashprizes.The opposition group wants legislators to pass a new lawthat regulates the industry and
shuts down what it calls rogueoperators.Storeowner Robert Dabish runs more than 20 cafes acrossthe state,
including locations in Toledo, Findlay and Columbus. He saidhe welcomes regulation of his business, not a
policy that he says wouldcost the state jobs. He employs more than 160 people."If thisindustry were to
close, they’re going to be gone," Dabish told reportersat the secretary of state’s office.
"They’re going to be on thestreets."Backers of the measure say the parlors harbor illegalgambling.
They caution that no single law enforcement agency hasauthority to investigate or pursue criminal charges
statewide for anyillegal activity at the cafes, which they say leaves the industry opento money laundering
and other crimes.Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rightsreserved. This material may not be
published, broadcast, rewritten orredistributed.