ogadmin

11

Nov2013

Austintown Racino

/ Lottery
Penn National Gaming has turned down offers from Youngstown, Niles and McDonald to provide water service to its Austintown racino currently being built. Instead, Penn National Gaming will drill a well at the location.
November 11, 2013ogadmin

04

Nov2013

VLTs Update

/ Lottery
State ex rel. Walgate v. Kasich, Supreme Court of Ohio Case No. 2013-0656, challenges the constitutionality of Ohio’s VLTs. Walgate was stayed pending the outcome of the case of ProgressOhio.org, et al. v. JobsOhio, Case No. 2012-1272, which involves standing issues similar to the ones faced by the plaintiffs in Walgate v. ... Read More
November 4, 2013ogadmin

22

Oct2013
Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine has ordered veteran and fraternal organizations to cease operating electronic raffle games. DeWine considers these games another form of illegal gambling. Originally DeWine had ordered all machines removed by August 1. He backed off the deadline when he was informed that state lawmakers would clarify ... Read More
October 22, 2013ogadmin

22

Oct2013
Governor John Kasich has signed Executive Order 2013-10K which issues emergency rules for the operation of a sweepstakes café in Ohio. HB 7 does not outright ban Internet cafes, but it does make it difficult to conduct business in the state. These rules, required by HB 7, establish sweepstakes registration ... Read More
October 22, 2013ogadmin

14

Oct2013

Canton Moratorium

/ Lottery
Meanwhile, despite HB 7 going into effect, the city of Canton has extended its moratorium on Internet cafes an additional six months, the third such extension since the moratorium took effect in 2012. According to a city councilman, the purpose of the extension was to protect the city in the ... Read More
October 14, 2013ogadmin

14

Oct2013

September Revenues

/ Lottery
September was a mixed bag for Ohio’s casinos. Horseshoe Cleveland ($19.34 million, up 2.3%) and Horseshoe Cincinnati ($19.80 million, up 3.1%) showed increases over August. Hollywood Toledo ($14.08 million, down 11.2%) and Hollywood Columbus ($15.71 million, down 7%) showed declines over August. Scioto Downs racino ($10.51 million, down 5.3%) also ... Read More
October 14, 2013ogadmin

07

Oct2013

House Bill 7 Now Law

/ Lottery
The referendum to get the issue of Internet cafes before voters on the 2014 ballot has failed. Supporters, even with an additional 10 days, failed to get the required number of valid signatures. This means that HB 7 is now in effect. One of the provisions of the bill limits ... Read More
October 7, 2013ogadmin

07

Oct2013

VS2 Plea Agreement

/ Lottery
VS2 Worldwide Communications, a New Jersey company that provided software to Internet cafes in Ohio, has pled guilty to several lesser charges as part of a plea agreement. Owners of the company were fined $1,000 apiece and each pled guilty to possession of criminal tools. The company was fined $10,000 ... Read More
October 7, 2013ogadmin

07

Oct2013
DeWine has also found electronic poker machines to be a form of illegal gambling. Buckeye Charity Poker, which is a business and not a charity, had been conducting electronic poker games in Willoughby Hills for over a year. In electronic poker, players sit around a table with flat-screen monitors. Players would ... Read More
October 7, 2013ogadmin

30

Sep2013

Smithville Update

/ Lottery
The village solicitor submitted her draft to the council of an ordinance that would outright ban Internet cafes. Council took no action. A moratorium on sweepstakes cafes expires at the end of 2013.
September 30, 2013ogadmin