Despite Florida’s strict gambling laws, numbers of neighbourhood amusement centres that offer electronic slots have been growing. Some cities passed emergency ordinances to block adult arcades, whist other cities and counties such as Palm Beach County have allowed them to proliferate. The loophole in Florida’s law has become known as the Chuck E Cheese law, a clause written into the Florida statutes in 1997.

The Chuck E Cheese law allows amusement centres and truck stops to operate games of skill where players receive coupons or credits redeemable for merchandise. Arcade owners argue that their machines are legal as pressing buttons to stop reels spinning takes an element of skill. Opponents argue that the machines are illegal slots. So far there has been neither a Supreme Court ruling on the matter nor regulations from the Legislature.

In Broward County a case against an arcade owner is going to trial this week. This is unusual because in the past most owners arrested on similar felony gambling charges have surrendered their machines and pleaded no contest to misdemeanour charges. Gale Fontaine, owner of several arcades, is president of the Florida Arcade Association (FAA) and faces up to ten years imprisonment if the Broward Circuit Court jury finds her guilty on all charges. It will be the first criminal trial on felony gambling charges in Broward County.

The FAA maintains that its Penny Arcades are similar to children’s arcades but for grown-ups. ‘Penny Arcades have become a safe-haven and a second home to many local seniors, offering them not only a way to pass the time, but to actually enjoy themselves. Now, instead of sitting home alone and watching television, they have a place to go, where they can meet people their own age, and have conversation, nutritious meals, and mental stimulation for a few pennies per game.’

Broward County will have the only licensed slot machines in Florida outside the Indian reservations, and the amusement arcades can be seen as competition. Four pari-mutuels in the county won the right to operate slot machines at their venues following a referendum in March 2005. These machines will be subject to regulations, unlike the machines in arcades. With no rules on minimum payback, many see the arcades as exploiting the elderly but some customers disagree. Both sides are expected to present gambling experts at the trial to support their case. (E-08.07.06)

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