Two storefronts in Modesto, California, were raided last week and twelve people were arrested in conjunction with alleged illegal internet gaming taking place on the premises.
Both venues were located on McHenry avenue, which runs north-south pretty much right through the city center. The storefronts advertise themselves as locations that offer simple internet and business services. One of them, Business Resource Center, lists various services on its door such as copy, fax, print, e-mail, internet access, and word processing. When police officers entered the stores, people were certainly taking advantage of the businesses’ internet access, but they were using it to gamble online.
Law enforcement officials seized 64 computers and $7,360 between the two locations combined, according to local news reports.
From the sound of it, the internet cafes appeared to be places in which serious poker players could concentrate on grinding in a peaceful, calm environment. Or not. The two-month investigation into the illegal activities was prompted by complaints of public intoxication, fighting, and gang-related activities on and around the premises.
Said police spokesman Lt. Rick Applegate, “[There was] drug use in the parking lot, sex acts in the parking lot, prostitution.”
Danny Fessenden, who worked for a short time as a security guard at one of the locations, said things were very bad, noting, “The first night I was there, a guy was behind the dumpster doing crack. They were sharing needles in plain view.”
Only three of the twelve people who were arrested were charged with illegal gambling. Most of the rest were charged with possession of various drugs and drug paraphernalia. A few were booked for bail parole violations and prior warrants.
The internet gambling activities might not be illegal in the not-too-distant future if poker proponents get their way. In February, State Senator Lou Correa introduced Senate Bill 678, the Authorization and Regulation of Internet Poker and Consumer Protection Act of 2013. The extremely short bill aims to amend California’s current gambling law to allow internet poker sites to operate within state borders. Additionally, it mandates the California Gambling Control Commission to put together regulatory frameworks for both poker site licensing and the sites’ rules of operation.
Also in the state legislature is Senator Roderick Wright’s SB 51, the Internet Gambling Consumer Protection and Public-Private Partnership Act of 2013. This one actually establishes the rules and regulations for intrastate online poker.
Both Correa and Wright have been trying to get online poker (and other gambling, depending on the bill) legalized in the Golden State since 2011. They have run into multiple obstacles each time, perhaps most significantly the issue of tribal sovereignty and special interests who all want their piece of the pie. California is a great state for brick-and-mortar poker, but with so many stakeholders around the state, online poker legislation has been difficult to get done.
They raided some in Fresno recently too. On an other note, HEY LAWMAKERS- DO SOMETHIG!!!