Illicit casinos that pay out cash prizes at so-called “arcade” machines are open for business around the clock in plain view of customers. These brothels may be found all around the state of Florida, and each one of them is operating illegally. What needs to happen in order for law enforcement to carry out its duties?
This week, Christopher Spata of the Tampa Bay Times shed light on both the predatory enterprises that plague the Tampa Bay area and the criminal justice system itself, which turns a blind eye to the lucrative public nuisances that these businesses create.
The report from the Times states that, with very few exceptions, slot machines are against the law in the state of Florida. south of a select few locations in the state of Florida, including the casinos owned by the Seminole Tribe, such as the Hard Rock located south of Tampa, and a few racetracks in South Florida, the use of gambling devices is specifically prohibited.
However, these arcades register their games as regular coin-operated amusement games with the state and local governments so that they can continue to operate them. Despite the fact that these gambling machines do not have any typical games, your bluff was successful.
And they can be found in communities all across the Tampa Bay area; as of the beginning of May, there were at least seventy game rooms operating in the area, and there were an estimated one thousand locations across the state of Florida.
These establishments do not engage in advertising, their ownership is frequently unclear, and they have a propensity to operate clandestinely in low-income neighborhoods.
“They do it partly for cheap rent,” one expert said, but also to avoid drawing attention from neighbors and the police. “They do it to avoid drawing attention from neighbors and the police.” The Times went to almost thirty different casinos and found what one would expect to see there.
Customers are left defenseless when dealing with shady arcade owners. A significant number of patients suffer from addictions to substances like gambling or narcotics.
When the police do show up, it is often to corral a customer or to address some side crime; the gaming operation itself is not the focus of their attention. In the meantime, operators are raking in the cash; an industry insider told the Times that a properly managed arcade might make a profit of $20,000 to $60,000 each month.
The Florida Gaming Control Commission, which was established during the Seminole Tribe’s amended contract with the state of Florida last year, is spread too thin to have much of an effect. The commission has been staffing a team of 20 in its law enforcement branch, including 15 field agents.
It is tasked with the responsibility of regulating gaming in both its legal and criminal forms. However, having the authority to act but lacking the manpower to do so is equivalent to having a paper tiger.
The commission has already found “extensive” gambling activities in Pinellas and Hillsborough counties, but it is quite evident that it does not have the resources nor the public profile that it requires.
These neighborhood casinos should be given a higher priority by law enforcement in the surrounding area. Additionally, the local prosecutors need to give the police their word that they would treat these cases seriously.
It is a known fact that state attorneys are inundated with cases involving violent crimes and repeat criminals; nonetheless, setting even one or two precedents could assist in preventing the further spread of these operations.
After all, Florida does have various forms of legalized gambling and runs a state lottery; therefore, some people could dispute the necessity of cracking down. The opinions of Floridians have also changed throughout the years about the decriminalization of minor offenses and the legal status of marijuana.
However, state regulations on specific types of gambling, marijuana, and the reform of the criminal justice system have all been the topic of extensive public debate. This debate has included law enforcement, prosecutors, elected officials, voters, and the courts, as well as almost every other institution in society.
There has been no discussion on whether or not the public and the elected authorities of the state desire local casinos. In contrast to those other topics, there has been no in-depth and open discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of this issue.
In this situation, morality is not what has to be enforced; rather, the law does. If someone is interested in gaming at strip malls, they should introduce legislation during the next legislative session.
The existence of these operations can be attributed to the fact that they thrive in the shadows, that the victims are regarded as being of low importance, and that law enforcement believes it has more important things to accomplish. What a pitiful collection of justifications that make this exploitative industry possible.
