Florida Police Officers Raids Illegal Gambling Cafes Offering Slot Type Games

Florida authorities have been very busy in recent years looking for Internet cafes that were conducting illegal gaming operations. The latest attempts to close down the operation came on April 16th, 2010 in Ocala when three Internet cafe's were raided by state authorities.

The Marion Internet Services Incorporated, the Cyberzone Cafe and the Gatorcafe II were all raided by police officers in the early morning. Authorities had received numerous complaints that the cafes were conducting illegal gaming operations and paying customers real cash. Confiscated in the raids were computers that offer illegal slot machine type games.

Search warrants were issued by the court and several individuals were apprehended during the raid. Kamaljit Rai, who owns the Gatorcafe II, was arrested and charged with running a gambling house and possessing illegal gaming devices. An employee at one of the raided cafes, Krystal Lisette Stoy, was charged with keeping a gambling house.

The manager at Cyberzone Cafe, John Robert Andrews Jr., was charged with the same crime. Cyberzone Cafe owner Jeffrey Reed has a warrant out for his arrest. Gaming Analyst Brad Dawkins said that authorities around the US have shown they will not tolerate these cybercafes.

Dawkins added that with many states allowing casino facilities, these cybercafes will be under more scrutiny. The cafes started appearing throughout the United States several years ago.

The basic premise is the players come in and buy prepaid airtime and then use that time to enjoy slot-type games on computers. Many gambling locations pay out their players in prizes and not money.

Sunday, 09 May 2010
Kori Woffendin