Florida Internet Cafes: Legal In City, Illegal In County
Aug 05, 2020 AD Tallahassee police arrested four people on gambling charges and seized cash and equipment in an internet cafe raid. Officers on Tuesday served a search warrant at the Fun Arcade, 1164 Capital. Deputies Raid Ormond Beach Internet Cafes Accused of Having Illegal Gambling By Matt Fernandez Volusia County PUBLISHED 10:40 PM ET Apr. 16, 2019 PUBLISHED 10:40 PM EDT Apr.
At least six internet cafes are operating in St. Augustine, Florida. They’re legal in the city but not in St. Johns County where St. Augustine is located. St. Augustine Police Department Assistant Chief Anthony Cuthbert said, “We’re just monitoring the legal landscape to see if anything comes out of that. For now, from what we can, tell they’re operating legally.”
Internet Cafe Gambling Florida Keys
DBPR Division of. December 9, 2020 — Florida Man Gets Stuck With $93,000 Tax Bill After Letting Boss Use His DFS Account. 849.01 Keeping gambling houses, etc. — Whoever by herself or himself, her or his servant, clerk or agent, or in any other manner has, keeps, exercises or maintains a gaming table or room, or gaming implements or apparatus, or house, booth, tent, shelter or other place for the purpose of gaming or gambling or in any place of which she or he may directly or indirectly have charge, control. NASSAU COUNTY, FLORIDA, Fla. — The chair of the Nassau County Board of Commissioners would like to see a change in how internet cafes are regulated and said that could also include shutting them.
St. Augustine was the base of Allied Veterans of the World, which operated internet cafes throughout Florida. In 2013 law enforcement arrested dozens of AVW owners and associates for money laundering and racketeering. The Florida legislature banned the cafes, causing hundreds to shut down.
St. Augustine City Attorney Isabelle Lopez said internet cafes are reviewed for zoning and building code compliance, like any other business. She said operators understand they could be investigated for hosting illegal gambling and having their machines seized by prosecutors.
“We’ve chosen not to attempt to get into the regulation of gambling, as that is a very complex field right now,” she said. “The state of Florida determines what is or isn’t a gambling establishment. I know a lot of people see internet cafes as gambling dens, and technically if they are comporting with the very peculiar requirements of state statute, they are not deemed gambling. They are sweepstakes, oftentimes set up as legal sweepstakes, regulated by Florida law.”
She added, “The compliance of whether or not you are truly a sweepstakes or a gambling facility has to do with the way the computer programs are set up. And that requires a tremendous amount of resources, so typically those things are handled by the attorney general or the Florida Department of Law Enforcement through a major inter-jurisdictional sweep.”
City Planning and Building Department Director David Birchim said the city doesn’t define internet cafes, so zoning for the difference between them and coffee shops that offer internet access is a problem.
In St. Johns County, no permits or permit renewals have been issued since state law changed following the Allied Veterans of the World investigation, said County spokesman Michael Ryan. The number of internet cafes dropped from 21 to one, Lucky Louie’s, and ″that business is operating without a business permit in St. Johns County,” Ryan said. The county has issued 32 citations, from $118 to $268, against Lucky Louie’s for operating without a business permit. The county also took the business to court, where a judge withheld adjudication and issued a fine, Ryan said.
The county does not get involved in whether a business is involved in gambling. “That’s a state-regulated business. That’s why we’ve been in touch with the state attorney’s office,” Ryan said.
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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Thousands of dollars and numerous gambling machines have been seized after authorities raided six Tallahassee internet cafes.
The Tallahassee Police Department and Leon County Sheriff's Office conducted a joint investigation into operations at six different internet cafes in Tallahassee.
According to TPD, the joint investigation began in April after citizens complained about illegal gambling.
While the investigation was ongoing, one of the gambling establishment/internet cafe patrons was shot during an armed robbery attempt on April 16 at an internet cafe in the1200 block of Capital Circle Southeast. They say another gambling establishment/internet cafe was also robbed at gunpoint 10 days later with the suspect discharging the firearm while at the Arcade Center in the 1800 block of North MLK Boulevard.
After consultation with the State Attorney’s Office, probable cause was established for search warrants to be served at the following locations:
- 2764 West Tennessee Street Suite 3
- 1350 Mahan Suite C-4
- 1214 Capital Circle Southeast Suite A
Internet Sweepstakes Cafe Florida
- 3839 North Monroe Street Suite 3
- 1363 East Lafayette Street Suite C
- Arcade Center, 1889 North Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard
During the service of the search warrants numerous gaming machines, televisions, and thousands of dollars were seized.
LCSO says no arrests have been made at this time. The investigation will continue as evidence is processed.
Internet Cafe Gambling In Ohio
This is a developing story.