States across the U.S. are struggling to keep up with the rash of illegal gambling activity taking place at Internet cafes.
Countless establishments which have turned up everywhere from suburban strip malls to backwoods gas stations are engaging in illegal real-money gaming.
Known as Internet sweepstakes cafes, they sell time on computers that can have the look, sound and feel of slot and video poker machines, sometimes with cash payouts for winners.
According to a new report from USA today, authorities are having a difficult time shutting down the incessant operations that continue to turn up in every direction.
“More than $10 billion in revenue a year is the incentive to stay in business for these storefronts, numbering in the thousands,” the report reads. “For some gamblers, the allure of cybercafe gambling is that the facilities are as near as the local mall or service station.”
Regrettably for law enforcement, once establishments are shut down, they quickly pop back up under a new name removed from the so-called label of “sweepstakes cafe.” Some advertise themselves as “basic office service venues while others promote arcade games,” the report notes.
So what can be done to stop this pervasive and costly (states don’t generate tax revenue from these illegal Internet cafes) phenomenon? Depending on who you ask, this epidemic is both the best argument for and against the legalization of online gambling in the U.S.
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