The Springfield city solicitor said inspections this week found that 5 so-called cyber cafes in the city are still operating despite being issued cease-and-desist orders.
Lucky's Express Internet Cafe, seen here on Worthington Street in Springfield, is one of the internet cafes affected by Attorney General Martha Coakley's ruling that such operations are illegal.BOSTON – After shutting down a Chicopee establishment last week, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha M. Coakley has submitted emergency regulations prohibiting illegal gambling at certain so-called "cyber cafes" and "phone card" businesses that are proliferating in the state and still apparently operating in Springfield.
The regulations come after Coakley's office, armed with a search warrant on March 30, shuttered an Internet cafe in Chicopee and confiscated some video games as part of an investigation of possible gaming violations, officials said. The regulations were also released as the city of Springfield is attempting to close five Internet cafes that opened there, according to the city solicitor.
Coakley, the state's two-term attorney general, said the establishments say they sell goods or services, such as Internet service or phone cards, but an investigation found those sales are a pretext for illegal Internet slot parlors and gambling.
“The goal of these regulations is to protect consumers,” Coakley said in a statement. “These cyber cafes are really cyber scams with no posted odds, minimum odds, or guarantee of payouts for patrons. With these regulations, we are making clear that such gambling operations at ‘cyber cafes’ and ‘phone card video gaming terminals’ are illegal.”
Attorney General Martha Coakley issued regulations to ban illegal gambling at Internet cafes.At the "cyber cafes," people pay for a swipe card with points on it and use them to play video slots on dozens of computer screens. Winners can redeem the points accumulated on their swipe cards for cash, the attorney general's office said.
At the "phone card" establishments, provided at certain convenience stores, people can gamble on terminals after buying a phone card, the office said.
The emergency regulations are designed to clarify the laws around illegal gambling at these locations and end the practice of de facto gambling operations posing as sellers of goods or services, the attorney general said.
Harry Pierre, a spokesman for Coakley, said the regulations put operators on notice that this type of activity is illegal.
The attorney general's office last week closed down Cafeno's Cyber Cafe, 76 Main St. in Chicopee. Investigators also conducted similar operations at Internet cafes in Fairhaven and Fall River.
The regulations also come after the city of Springfield had moved to close the five Internet cafes that continue to operate there, said Springfield City Solicitor Edward Pikula. He said that the city last week issued cease-and-desist order against the five Internet cafes in the city for violation of city zoning laws.
"The city is very pleased that the attorney general has taken a lead in this important area," Pikula said on Thursday.
Officials again inspected the Internet cafes this week and found them to still be operating, Pikula said on Thursday.
"We followed up and they did not close," Pikula said.
An unidentified patron on Wednesday afternoon uses one of many computer stations inside Lucky's Express Internet Cafe on Worthington Street in Springfield.Under city zoning, establishments with more than five video games are considered indoor places of amusement and are required to have special permits to operate.
Officials with the Springfield law department, the planning department, code enforcement and zoning will meet on Monday to review the attorney general's regulations and consider what actions to take, Pikula said.
The city was preparing to seek a court order to enforce its zoning against cyber cafes when Coakley issued her regulations.
Visits to two of Springfield Internet cafes, City Cyber Café in Liberty Plaza and Lucky’s Express Internet Café on Worthington Street, showed both were indeed in business Thursday afternoon.
There were approximately 20 to 30 people playing games at video stations in City Cyber Café. The manager did not wish to speak to the press.
There were fewer than five patrons inside Lucky’s, a converted bar in the center of the city’s Entertainment District. Empty computer stations were lined up along the wall and across the marble bar counter.
An employee, who would give his name only as George, said he had not heard anything about the Attorney General’s ruling. He disputed the characterization of the café as a gambling establishment.
People can pay to use the computers to get on the internet, he said. They can play various sweepstakes games on the computers, but do not have to, he said.
“People can get a coffee, go on the internet and check their e-mail, and have the option to play sweepstakes,” George said. Sweepstakes winners are redeemable for prizes including cash, he said.
If that is illegal, he said, then the attorney general should shut down McDonald’s too because the fast-food chain has its own sweepstakes games, he said.
Lucky's has been in business for about two months, and George said he hopes it remains open.
“This is the best job I’ve had in a long, long time, “ George said. “I hope she doesn’t shut us down.”
Rep. Cheryl A. Coakley-Rivera, D-Springfield, has filed a bill to ban Internet cafes from operating sweepstakes games in the state.
“I applaud the Attorney General for taking this important step to prevent cyber cafes from exploiting the elderly and working poor,” Coakley-Rivera said. “Allowing these types of scams to prey upon our citizens is unacceptable.”