Strongsville 'Vindicated' By Legal Action on Internet Cafes

In mid-2010, Law Director Ken Kraus wrote a legal opinion on Internet sweepstakes cafes: He said they're illegal, plain and simple.

None currently operate in Strongsville. Any time an Internet cafe has tried to move in, .

"We took a very strong position," Kraus said.

Now, the county prosecutor is backing him up. Proscutor Bill Mason has ordered all 50 Internet cafes in the county to shut down, saying they constitute illegal gambling.

In addition, Mason said 10 defendants and seven companies involved in illegal Internet cafes have been indicted.

They are involved in an intricate Internet gambling system known as “VS2” that is controlled by a computer server in New Jersey.

Mason said the group has convinced many small business owners in Cuyahoga County that VS2 internet cafe gaming system operates as “sweepstakes,” which are not illegal.

Kraus, backed by Police Chief Charles Goss, has said all along that the businesses are illegal.

"Although a lot of pressure has been brought to bear on us . . . I want to remind everyone the county prosecutor is going after Internet sweepstakes cafes," Kraus told City Council Monday. "I think our positions here have been vindicated by Cuyahoga County."

Kraus said he will not back down until the Ohio Attorney General or a court rules that the sweepstakes cafes are not a form of gambling.

At the cafes, customers buy time on computers to play online games, some of which resemble casino games.

But proponents argue that because the outcome is predetermined -- rather than games of chance -- they are a type of sweepstakes, not gambling.

Kraus said he has gotten calls from law directors of other cities that have allowed the cafes to operate.

"They're saying 'we really regret letting them move in -- now we think they're illegal, but what can we do,'" Kraus said.

While some cases have gone to court, Kraus said the decisions have gone both ways, depending on the specific nature of the computers and the software. He said he hopes new Attorney General Mike DeWine will issue a statewide opinion rather than leaving enforcement up to individual jurisdictions.