Toward the conclusion of Monday's Senate Gaming Committee meeting, Sen. John Thrasher, R-Jacksonville, guaranteed that the one gambling bill to be introduced in the Legislature during the upcoming session will be legislation to stop Internet cafes in their tracks.
"I can tell you for sure there will be a bill to place a moratorium on Internet cafes in Florida," said Thrasher, a Gaming Committee member, but more pertinent, chairman of the Senate Rules Committee.
Thrasher's announcement followed remarks from Gaming Committee Chairman Garrett Richter, R-Naples, who said 2013 would be a fact-finding and planning year for gambling in Florida -- a time to hear all sides out -- not a year in which new gaming laws would be introduced.
Gov. Rick Scott has been emphatic that Internet cafes, springing up like weeds across the state, should be closed down permanently.
Scott never took a public stand last year on the destination gaming bills before the Legislature, but in January 2012 he stood against cafes or arcades that in many communities cater largely to senior citizens, but fall short of being legally considered casinos by offering "sweepstake" prizes rather than directly awarding cash.
I dont believe that the Internet locations are legal or should be legal, Scott told reporters during a media gathering in his Capitol office more than a year ago. Its an area that I think doesnt make sense. I dont believe in it.
The so-called Internet cafes or sweepstakes cafes, once operated in the shadows. But now they number roughly 1,500 to 2,000 statewide, generating an estimated $1 billion-plus in annual revenue.
With every year of legislative inaction, the industry becomes more firmly entrenched.
Some counties still fight for local bans, but until Thrasher's statement Monday afternoon, there seemed to be little appetite in the Florida Senate for a statewide crackdown.
Reach Nancy Smith at nsmith@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.
