If Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam wades further into the state gaming issues, his focus will be on the adult arcades that are commonly referred to as Internet cafes.
That would specifically mean the eight of the approximately 1,000 strip mall arcades across the state that offer sweepstakes prizes, rather than cash, that have registered as charities with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
This really gets to the heart of what is wrong with the existing law and how it needs to be fixed, said Putnam, who has already come out in opposition to the destination resort bills -- HB 487 and SB 710 -- filed by state Rep. Erik Fresen, R-Miami, and state Sen. Ellyn Bogdanoff, R-Fort Lauderdale.
An existing jumble of state laws makes it difficult to regulate the store-front businesses and legislators were unable to reach consensus in the spring on the issue.
Legislators are expected to confront the issue again in the 2012 session.
Bogdanoff has said a ban on the cafes is expected when she files an amended version of the destination resort bill that will also include an increase in the license fee for the casinos, from $50 million to $125 million each, and that the casinos must be located in Miami-Dade and Broward counties.
The ambiguity of the past has been whether software they use is, in fact, a sweepstakes or an instrument of gambling, Putnam told reporters during a media gathering on Thursday. I believe that it is a proliferation of gambling in our neighborhoods, in the suburbs, next to Tae Kwon Do Studios and neighborhood coffee shops, and is something that should be controlled.
Putnams comments echoed those of state Sen. John Thrasher, R-Jacksonville, who says the state should concentrate first on the proliferation of the Internet cafes before proceeding with the Bogdanoff-Fresen legislation that would establish a statewide gaming commission and allow three mega-casinos in South Florida.
In the House, Rep. Scott Plakon, R-Longwood, has filed a bill to make storefront casinos illegal. Meanwhile, Sen. Miguel Diaz de la Portilla, R-Miami, has filed a bill that focuses more on regulating the gambling dens.
Supporters of the shops say they are a diversion that offers sweepstake-style prizes instead of cash, as allowed by Florida law.
However, critics say the games are no different from video poker and slot machines.
Reach Jim Turner at jturner@sunshinestatenews.com or at (772) 215-9889.
