Legislators will reboot Internet cafes bill

New measure to try once more to shutter 800 gambling sites

State lawmakers plan to quickly revive a bill that would essentially eliminate Internet cafes or sweepstakes parlors operating in Ohio.

Rep. Matt Huffman, R-Lima, sponsored the bill last year that would limit prize payouts at the largely unregulated gambling operations to $10 a day, effectively driving them out of business. He expects to soon introduce largely the same bill and is hopeful it will move without much delay.

The House passed the bill last session in December, but some senators raised questions about the scope of its impact and whether it was giving up too much authority to the attorney general. The bill died at the end of the session.

“I think we need to make sure the Senate is aware of what we’re doing. We need to resolve this issue,” Huffman said. “I plan to introduce a bill shortly, make sure that it’s vetted and try to get it moved out as quickly as we can.”

He expects some changes to the bill to try to address concerns raised by the Senate, such as ensuring that it hits Internet cafes but leaves alone other sweepstakes games, such as those run by McDonald’s.

Asked recently about Internet cafes, new Senate President Keith Faber, R-Celina, said: “The state has said gambling needs to be done for a public purpose, and I’m not sure where the public purpose is for Internet-cafe gambling.”

Attorney General Mike DeWine and county prosecutors have supported shutting down the operations, as do the state’s casino operators.

Internet cafes sell Internet time or phone cards, which come with points that customers can play at terminals that are like slot machines. Supporters say the roughly 800 businesses in Ohio are socialgathering sites that benefit communities through taxes and employ thousands of people. jsiegel@dispatch.com

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