Small Time Gambling Houses Offers Cheap Gambling Experience to Their Customers in South West Florida.
Posted on December 30, 2008 - Filed Under Casino games, Gambling Law News, Gambling News
The Internet parlors have become favorite arena for casino games. The reason is the top cash prize of $5000 at Jacks Are Wild in Bradenton and the jackpot of $8000 at Phone Card Sweepstakes in Sarasota.
Most of the patrons purchase a phone card or Internet time to play video sweepstakes games at the small -time gambling houses. Sometime back these gambling houses were sealed by the authorities. In the year 2006 the officials at Sarasota and Manatee had shut down some of the small- time gambling houses because people played on slot machines for gift coupons or cards.
According to state law gambling outside the traditional casinos or state run lottery is not allowed. The Internet cafe owners say that their businesses are legal. A North Carolina county judge stopped law enforcement from raiding similar Internet cafes.
The owners opined that they fall under the game promotion sections and Florida’s sweepstakes of the gambling statute. They have not violated any law and they are only selling phone or Internet time and the games are only perks which the customers get on purchasing the phone card.
At Jacks Are Wild, when a customer purchases a phone or Internet time, he gets credits which can be used to bet on a computerized game. After the wager, if the customer wins he is paid in cash. The players get more entries to play on purchasing more phone or Internet time.
The local enforcement law is still to decide whether such type of wager is legal or not. In 2007, this was said to be a violation of law by the Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum. Till now, these Internet parlors have not come into the eyes of local sheriffs.
Some players like “Chuck” aged 64, has already won $1200 in Vegas style computer games in Bradenton. Some say it is minor gambling but you do not lose much cash. It is a stress game almost like golf or water skiing. Some elderly players also call these Internet parlors as “cheap man’s casino”.
