State ‘nudges’ gaming machines out of bars and golf equipment

GRAND RAPIDS. Mich. (WOOD) — Across West Michigan in current days, casino-style machines which can be standard fixtures in bars, American Legion halls and plenty of different venues have been quietly hauled away.

State gaming officers final month despatched out letters telling venues that sport the machines they need to go. They violate Michigan gaming legal guidelines, officers contend.

That isn’t an opinion essentially shared by legions of gamers and people who personal and keep the machines.

“They’ve taken it upon themselves to try to shut us down,” stated Todd Barcheski, who arrived on the American Legion Boat and Canoe Club in Grand Rapids lately to haul out the favored machines. “We’re a small company, and it hurts, you know? I mean, we’ve lost probably 40% of our income over the last year because of this.”

His agency, Sobota Enterprises/After Hours Amusements, was on the forefront of putting the machines in dozens of West Michigan companies going again almost twenty years. Inventory through the years have included Nudgemaster and Diamond Skill Games.

“Now they’re going after our veterans clubs, which they’ve largely left alone,” Barcheski stated. “I’m hurt. I’ve worked for the company for 27 years.”

The Michigan Gaming Control Board in September despatched letters below the heading “important information regarding illegal casino-style gaming machines.” One was taped to an unplugged machine on the Boat and Canoe Club that Barcheski carted out.

The letter states that the Board “has received numerous complaints regarding these gaming machines in recent years.”

“It is crucial that you understand that the operation of these gaming machines is illegal,” the letter states, noting that the penalty for violators is as much as 10 years in jail and a $100,000 fantastic.

“We encourage all Michigan restaurants, bars, and fraternal halls/clubs to explore alternative opportunities offered by legitimate sources,” which embrace Millionaire Parties and Keno, the letter states.

The Michigan Association on Problem Gambling launched an announcement saying that unregulated playing environments “lack the safeguards found in licensed gaming.”

“When unregulated machines appear in everyday public spaces like bars, gas stations, and restaurants, they normalize gambling and make it more accessible to at-risk populations, including youth and individuals with limited support,” the statement (PDF) reads.

COURTROOMS AND THE CAPITOL

It is a contentious issue that has resulted in numerous prosecutions as well as bipartisan legislation in Lansing.

A bill introduced to the Michigan House of Representatives in May addresses redemption games and their use at Michigan establishments. It would allow establishments to have up to eight redemption game machines that award stored value cards.

Backers say the machines, such as Nudgemaster, are indeed a game of skill — not just chance. Players have to line up a column of pictures horizontally. Winners do not get cash but are given a voucher that can be redeemed for gift cards accepted at participating businesses, including restaurants.

The state Attorney General’s office has filed several criminal charges against employees of businesses that have redemption games, including a worker at a Boost Mobile on Plainfield Avenue NE in metro Grand Rapids. Investigators say several Nudgemaster gaming machines were in the back of the building.

Mohamed El Morabeti was charged with four crimes, including felony gambling operations. His case is pending in Kent County Circuit Court. Lawyers are asking that the charges be dismissed.

Morabeti’s defense attorney, Mike Hills, thinks the state charged his client to send a message.

“Obviously this has ripple effects and that’s the purpose,” Hills said. “My personal opinion is it’s a bully tactic (by the state) meant to sow fear in other establishments that have these games.”

State prosecution of two people in Saginaw County for gaming violations were dismissed earlier this month. Saginaw District Court Judge A. T. Frank found that the machines “incorporate an element of skill and award only non-cash prizes or limited-use gift cards.”

Even though they look like casino machines, “they contain material features of skill not found in casino gaming,” Frank wrote.

The state Attorney General’s Office “failed to show that the machines at issue were illegal gambling devices under Michigan law,” the judge concluded.

A spokesperson for Attorney General Dana Nessel disagrees.

“The Nudgemaster machines are designed to trick consumers into believing they are playing a skill-based game, when they are not,” in accordance with an announcement from Nessel’s workplace.

A spokesman for the Michigan Redemption Gaming Association referred to as the decide’s ruling in Saginaw County “a judicial rebuke of the state’s investigation and charging decisions.”

“This finding confirms that the business owners and employees were wrongly accused under a misapplied criminal statute, based on incompetent or reckless investigative work,” Michigan Redemption Gaming Association spokesman Dave Phillips stated.

“It’s an unbelievable story of how the casinos are exerting their influence and going out of their lane,” he stated.

The state has despatched out scores of stop and desist letters to golf equipment, bars and mom-and-pop companies, “interrupting a revenue stream to small operators just trying to survive,” he stated.

“When you’re in a nonprofit and it’s a place for our veterans to go and relax, these machines were an activity for our members,” Bob Chapin, commander of the American Legion Boat and Canoe Club Post 258, stated.

The 5 machines generated about $500 every week in income, which he stated helped with prices of working the power overlooking the Grand River in Northeast Grand Rapids.

“I really feel sorry for our members who were using them, and I’ve got to find some replacement activity,” Chapin stated. “But it’s the idea that we have to stay compliant with the law in order to keep a building open for our membership.”