Fairlawn Still Waiting to Regulate Internet Cafes

Fairlawn officials are playing a waiting game with the state to see who will act first on regulating Internet sweepstakes cafes.

City Council was poised to pass local legislation on the cafes earlier this year, but is holding off after hearing that Ohio legislators are tackling the issue statewide. 

"Something must have happened in the statehouse," Mayor William Roth said. "It's a total reverse of where they were a month ago."

But if the state doesn't act by mid-June, Fairlawn will have to move.

Fairlawn's moratorium on the cafes —  — will expire June 15.   

For now, Fairlawn will wait.

"We still have time," Council President Russ Sharnsky said.

Roth said the city would prefer to have Ohio regulate Internet cafes, because a local law would require a lot of procedural work.

And even if Fairlawn ends up passing its rules and the state later acts, "the state will supercede us," Law Director Edward Riegler said.

The local regulations were drafted after city officials, tired of waiting for the state to take action, decided to handle Internet cafes locally.

The measures, which have been read three times and are ready for a vote, restrict the cafes to certain zoning districts and impose regulations on how they operate.

City officials decided to push forward after the Ohio Senate rejected a bill in December that would have all but put the cafes out of business. 

How it works

At Internet sweepstakes cafes, customers buy phone cards for any amount of money, and that money correlates to sweepstakes points.

The customer uses the card to get on the Internet to surf or play sweepstakes games. Customers have the potential to win money, but the games are not necessarily considered gambling because the chances of winning are predetermined.