Ohio Attorney General Dann Files Suit Against Gambling Parlors in Belmont and Licking counties

September 4, 2007 -- COLUMBUS - Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann today filed four complaints seeking preliminary injunctions against gambling parlors in Belmont and Licking counties. The complaints allege that the operators of the parlors are violating Ohio’s Consumer Sales Practices Act by claiming their machines are “skill based” when, in fact, they are not.

“We will keep hammering away at this problem until all the illegal games are shut down throughout the State of Ohio,” said Mr. Dann. “These businesses are violating the Consumer Sales Practices Act and we’re asking the courts for preliminary injunctions.”

Investigators from the Attorney General’s Office found more than 90 gambling machines at four separate locations. Complaints were filed in Belmont County Court of Common Pleas against Power Play (16 machines), 46801 Dutch Lane, St. Clairsville; and Skilled Games #2 (28 machines), 67685 Clark Road, St. Clairsville. Complaints were also filed in Licking County Court of Common Pleas against Gold Rush (24 machines), 1364 Hebron Road, Heath; and Games People Play (24 games), 11097 Hebron Road, Heath. Games in operation at the locations included Crazy Bugs, Fruit Bars, Cherry Master, Magic Bomb, Triple Fever, Triple Jack, Halloween Party, and Money Machine. All the machines listed in the complaints offer cash payouts as prizes.

On August 22, 2007, Governor Ted Strickland issued an executive order declaring the influx of gambling machines into Ohio an “emergency” with “devastating effects.” That allowed Attorney General Marc Dann to institute the new CSPA rule that clarifies the definition of “skill-based” amusement machines. “The rules are now clear,” said Dann. “If a game can be won with skill and pays out in prizes worth less than $10, then it’s legal. Everything else, including any game that pays out in cash, is illegal. ” The new rule clearly states that calling an illegal slot machine a “skill-based amusement machine” is an unfair and deceptive act or practice under Ohio’s Consumer Sales Practices Act.

Note: Attorney General Marc Dann is asking Ohioans to join in the effort to drive illegal electronic gaming out of the state by reporting the location of the gambling machines to his office’s new toll-free phone line: 1-877-AG4-OHIO (877-244-6446) or by logging on to his new website: AG4OHIO.

Source: Ohio Attorney General

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