Gambling-like vending machines—which may or may not be legal–are increasingly appearing in convenience stores throughout Oregon. These “sweepstakes machines” or “gift-card kiosks” dispense gumballs, gift cards or some other small prize after a customer plays a short game . Ogden City Prosecutor Mike Junk said, “Right now, they’re cropping up throughout the state.”He noted a few years ago, “Ogden City confiscated something like seven of the machines. The distributors came to us and said, ‘If we agree not to bring the machines back into your city, will you dismiss the charges?’” The city agreed.
But now, Junk said, “It’s like when you spray for cockroaches, you have to keep spraying. They’ll disappear into the cracks and they’ll be gone for awhile, but pretty soon they’re back out again.”
Ogden Police Department Lieutenant Kevin Cottrell said an investigation into the machines has been completed and a report was given to city prosecutors. He said, “The way it’s marketed is that it’s not a gambling venture. But when you’re playing and get a point value that you can exchange for money, that looks like gambling to us. They’re walking a very fine line on this.”
Junk noted the machines are similar to those found in amusement arcades. “The ones we looked at before are fairly similar to the machines they have at Fat Cats. Those machines dispense tickets that can be traded for little prizes. A lot of prosecutors don’t want to be the one to screw it up for everybody in the state.”
Last year Stan Graham, general counsel for game distributor Intermountain Vending, said the company’s kiosks are like a fast-food restaurant’s sweepstakes promotion. He said the machine uses “an entertaining way of revealing” the predetermined outcome of the sweepstakes.
Washington Terrace City Manager Tom Hanson said he hopes the state will take action regarding the gaming machines. “Our code enforcement and the sheriff’s office took a look at them a year ago, and determined we’d do something about it if the state defines this as gambling. We would prefer these machines not to be in our city. They negatively impact those people who can least afford it. But we’re also looking to the state for enforcement.”
State Attorney General’s office spokesman Daniel Burton said cases involving gaming machines “come up on an occasional basis. But I have no numbers on how often this happens.”
Meanwhile, Junk said nobody has been willing to prosecute those involved with the machines. “Everybody’s a little gun-shy about making bad law. We need somebody in the state willing to file against these guys, and then maybe the rest of us can join in as a group. We just don’t know who’s going to step forward and take the lead, whether it’s Ogden or some other municipality.”
