'breathtaking expansion of gambling'

Update: Prosecutor calls Internet cafe bill 'breathtaking expansion of gambling'
By Jeff Burlew Florida Capital Bureau

Joseph Cocchiarella, a prosecutor with the State Attorney's Office in Orange and Osceola counties, told lawmakers today a bill that would regulate rather than ban Internet cafes represents "a breathtaking expansion of gambling" in Florida.

He told members of the Senate Committee on Regulated Industries that changing the gaming law to allow the businesses would mean prosecutors couldn't go after them as they have in his judicial circuit, home of Walt Disney World. He said that while the cases against Internet cafes haven't led to convictions, the counties are now free of the businesses, which opponents say attract crime and breed a host of social ills.

Sen. Miguel Diaz de la Portilla, R-Miami, member of the committee and sponsor of the bill (SB 380), said regulating rather than banning the Internet cafes would mean keeping open as many as 1,000 businesses and saving anywhere from 8,000 to 13,000 jobs. The bill would charge a $100 fee per machine, which he said would bring the state $4 million a year in revenue.

"So what we're trying to do is establish uniformity," he said, "bring those that may be operating on the fringes into compliance, bring them into the mainstream and provide reasonable, logical regulation for an activity that exists. And we have to recognize the up to 13,000 Floridians who are employed in these Internet cafes."

The committee voted 8-1 in favor of the bill.

update
A Senate committee voted 8-1 this morning in favor of a bill (SB 428) that would regulate -- not ban -- Internet cafes across Florida. The committee tabled another bill (SB 428) that would ban the businesses outright.

Sen. Miguel Diaz de la Portilla, R-Miami, sponsor of the bill that would regulate Internet cafes, said he wants to bring "reasonable, logical regulation" to businesses that employ up to 13,000 Floridians. He said regulating them would generate $4 million in revenue for the state.

Representatives from the Florida Attorney General's Office and the Florida Sheriffs Association said they support a ban rather than regulation.

April Kirsheman, general counsel for the Seminole County Sheriff's Office, said machines used in the Internet cafes have a mesmerizing effect on patrons and can lead to gambling addiction.
The Senate's Committee on Regulated Industries is taking up a bill (SB 428) today that would ban simulated gambling devices used by Internet cafes.

Similar legislation moved through a House subcommittee earlier this week.
Opponents of the businesses say nearly 1,000 Internet cafes have sprung up across Florida, leading to a host of social ills, including gambling addiction.

The committee is also taking up a bill (SB380) that would regulate game promotions.