Sweepstakes Cafes Were Declared Illegal by the California Supreme Court in June.
Raids on Internet cafes in Alameda County have raised new concerns about the social impact of gambling on communities. Separate raids in San Leandro and San Ramon netted gambling proceeds, leaving law enforcement officers and local residents to wonder at the connection between gambling and other recent crimes.
How the Raids Happened
On Tuesday, agents of the California Department of Justice’s Bureau of Gambling Control met with police officers from San Leandro in the 700 block of Marina Boulevard. They executed a search warrant on an Internet cafe in the San Leandro, an establishment named “Diamond Internet Services“. Later, another warrant was executed at a private home in San Ramon. At both locations, gaming proceeds were seized.
Internet cafes allow slot machine-style gambling over networked computers. While they are known to be located in private residences sometime, they are more often seen hidden away in strip malls in dozens of U.S. states. It’s likely that each state has Internet cafes, whether local law enforcement knows about them or not. In some states, such gaming is legal, though more than 20 states have laws against Internet cafes which accept real money players.
How Internet Cafes Work
At the San Leandro Internet cafe, patrons would pay money to receive credits. These credits then could be used to play on computers with gaming software on them. If they won, they could then use their winnings to buy prizes from a website, or receive a cash payout. The establishment saw a brisk business.
Police officers say they have answered 120 calls to the neighborhood surrounding Marina Boulevard in the past year. They have recorded dozen arrests, usually for crimes like vehicle theft, domestic violence, and narcotics possession. The police department believe much of the crime is associated with the recent appearance of the Internet cafe, which they say draws a criminal element.
Statement from the Police
Robert McManus, a San Leandro police lieutenant, said that police had met with the owner of Diamond Internet Services to discuss the situation. The police even suggested the owner close down his business, but the conversation did not work.
McManus told reporters, “The influx of criminal activity surrounding this illegal gambling establishment impacted our city. We attempted to resolve the issue by asking the owner to close, but our request was ignored, causing us to conduct a criminal investigation into the alleged illegal activities occurring at the business known for Internet-based gambling.”
No Arrests Made on Tuesday
No arrests were made in the Tuesday raids. Money was confiscated from both locations. Law enforcement hopes the raids signal to the owners the seriousness of the matter to the state and local authorities. The implication is the businesses need to shut down, or else the operators will face criminal charges the next time around.
San Leandro is a city of nearly 87,000 people in Alameda County, which is located in the San Francisco Bay area in west-central California. San Ramon is a nearby city of over 73,000 people. Alameda County is home to the University of California at Berkeley, one of the country’s leading academic institutions.
Internet Cafes in California Laws
On June 25, 2015, the California Supreme Court ruled unanimously that Internet cafes are illegal. The court system sometimes refers to such establishments as computerized “sweepstakes cafes”, and they have been controversial since their inception. The sweepstakes cafe owners, awash with gambling money, have funded lobbying efforts to maintain the legality of their brand of gaming. Though the legislature has not explicitely banned such gaming, the court system is not so easily bought.
With the June ruling in place, law enforcement across the state of California is empowered to launch similar raids, if they choose to do so. The agents of the Bureau of Gambling Control and the San Leandro Police Department used a soft touch in their raids, but law enforcement divisions would be within their authority to arrest sweepstakes cafe owners.
Rebuttal to the Officers
Not everyone would agree that narcotics arrests, stolen cars, and domestic abuse are tied to the opening or closing of a sweepstakes cafe. Drug use tends to be an addiction separate from gambling addiction, for instance. Most domestic disputes begin and end in the privacy of one’s home, so the theory that Internet cafes might cause them is not likely to gain traction with many people.
Proponents of the theory would argue that many domestic disputes begin with money concerns. Also, people stealing cars and committing other forms of robbery are likely to be desperate for money, so gambling losses could cause certain cases of auto theft. Even drug use and alcoholism have been tied to gambling addiction in one study, though the evidence is not overwhelming.
