Gamertell

Gambling in Ohio has been an election season issue for most, if not all, the dozen or so years I’ve been in the state. Since it has yet to pass in any form, gambling is illegal, meaning any device featuring a game of chance that pays out is breaking the law (except, of course, the state lottery).

According to a WHIO-TV story, Ohio’s Attorney General, Marc Dann, announced earlier this week that the state will hire an independent company to begin checking various video game machines in “bars and other businesses across the state to determine if they are in violation of gambling laws.”

Apparently there has been an “explosion in the number of requests” by police departments across the state as to the legality of certain machines.

From WHIO’s news report:

“This explosion has occurred because there is no clear standard for determining whether a machine is a game of skill that belongs in the arcade at Cedar Point or at Chuck E. Cheese or an illegal game of chance that belongs in Las Vegas or a state that has legalized gambling,” Dann said.

Cedar Point, of course, is a large amusement in Sandusky, Ohio, not too far from Cleveland, where families spend the day enjoying rides and playing games. Just over the Ohio River, in Indiana, are gambling river boats which are advertised across Ohio.

Much like gas tanks, machines determined to be legal - or not illegal - will be tagged and sealed with a official sticker.

I cannot help but think these complaints originated with parents who mistook paper tickets and trinkets for “pay out” or who simply want to get on the anti-video game bandwagon. Certainly, there’s a need for a distinction between Golden Tee arcade games and Gold ‘n’ Threes slot machines, but let’s hope this does not lead to many great arcade and bar games being improperly labeled - literally - and unnecessarily shipped out to gambling-friendly states.

Read [WHIO-TV] via [FileFront] Site [Cedar Point]