The Seminole Tribe of Florida recently sued 25 operators of electronic gambling parlors in the Jacksonville area, including Fun Cade, Fun Spot and Big Chances Internet Café, claiming they violated the tribe’s exclusive rights to offer Las Vegas-style casino games. The lawsuit, filed by the tribe’s outside counsel Barry Richard, stated the gaming operations “infringe upon the tribe’s right to substantial exclusivity in the operation of casino-style gambling.” The tribe requested a court order to close down the businesses.
Richard said the defendants were not traditional internet cafés that the state banned in 2013. “Most of these places don’t even offer internet access. The games they offer are resident on an in-house server. We’re talking electronic blackjack, all other kinds of games. It’s just straight-up gambling. People are betting money to win.”
Richard said the tribe moved to file the lawsuit after the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, which regulates gambling, said it wouldn’t monitor the businesses because they don’t serve alcohol. Richard added that local law enforcement also does not get involved. “It’s just not high on their priority list,” he said. He stated the suit was filed after the tribe hired an undercover gaming expert to patronize the parlors.
Richard remarked electronic gambling parlors are located “all over the state,” but most are concentrated in the Jacksonville area. That region also is the location of so-called “pre-reveal” games, which a Tallahassee judge ruled are illegal slots; the case is under appeal.
