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Gambling-Focused Internet Cafes Now Illegal In Florida

Posted by timothy on from the but-starbucks-is-nervous dept.

retroworks writes "I ignored the warning posted here on Slashdot on March 23. Surely someone was setting up some April Fools day hoax. But the Governor has now signed the bill. Whose cold dead hands will they pry the computer mice out of?" Note: while this might not change your opinion of the Florida law or other things it might lead to, it is aimed specifically at the kind of "Internet cafe" where the "Internet" part is essentially just a portal to online gambling, rather than at conventional Internet cafes.

2 of 53 comments (clear)

  1. Seems very reasonable by dwhitaker · · Score: 5, Interesting

    These are NOT internet cafes - they masquerade as such, but are really mini casinos. They are popularly known as "sweepstakes cafes" and often provide free food and drinks to encourage people to stay and gamble. This article (http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20120512/ARTICLE/120519835) does a pretty good job describing some of their features (e.g. one in Sarasota, FL gives out 50 kegs of free beer each month and offers $20,000 jackpots). You can think what you will about whether online (or offline) gambling is a good or bad thing, but this seems well within the purview of a state government to regulate or shut down, and they seem to have acted reasonably.

    --
    Douglas Whitaker
  2. What kind of Mickey Mouse State by Chrisq · · Score: 5, Funny

    What kind of Mickey Mouse State would pass .... Oh wait!