Among the bills waiting for a final nod from Governor Rick Scott is a measure many of the state’s youth are crossing their fingers Scott will sign soon. The measure officially okays arcades in Florida.
Major businesses like Dave and Busters joined forces to get the measure through the legislature this session. And Dave and Busters Entertainment and Game Strategy Vice President Kevin Bachus says he’s grateful it made it.
“I’m very aware of the fact that only a few, a small number of bills were able to be passed by the legislature this session and I’m very, very pleased that ours was one of them,” Bachus says.
After the legislature passed a new law in 2013 to crack down on internet cafes, Bachus says many arcades, like Dave and Busters, were operating in a legal grey area.
“We weren’t really sure what to do. On the one hand, we have everyone from the mayors of the cities where we were operating, to the law enforcement all the way up to the governor saying ‘ look this isn’t intended to go after Chuck E Cheese or Dave and Busters or family entertainment centers.’ On the other hand, reading the law itself, gave us some concerns,” Bachus says.
Bachus says his company isn’t comfortable with the idea of operating outside the law. So it put a freeze on any future expansions in the state – even walking away from a shovel ready project in central Florida. And he says company leaders asked the legislature for some guidance. That’s what Bachus says the bill waiting for the governor’s approval will supply. He says it won’t require the company to make many changes in the way it operates, but will give leaders to confidence to okay future expansions.
“We love the stores that we have in Florida, if you look at where we operate now, or really where we don’t operate, There’s a huge, huge opportunity there,” Bachus says.
Meanwhile, over at the Fun Station in Tallahassee visitors say they’re glad to hear of the change. Katie Thomas who is counting up a stack of tickets, says arcades are different from gambling. For one, she can’t imagine someone spending their whole pay check while playing ski ball.
Fun Station joint-owner, Jason Jusko says like Dave and Busters, he’s glad to have a firm idea of how to operate moving forward.
“We need that firm information so we can know how to run our business going forward because we’ve been out here in limbo for awhile,” Jusko says.
One thing the legislation does is cap the value of a prizes someone can win. Tickets must have a value of no more than about $5. Gamers can save those tickets up for prizes that cost hundreds of dollars, but can’t win a prize that costs more than about $50 from a single game like the claw machine. Jusko says that will mean making a few small changes around his place if the bill becomes law.
“But it’s such a small part of what we do. I mean the main stuff is always ski ball and stuff like that,” Jusko says.
Right now one of the Fun Station’s claw-type machines includes prizes like ipads and expensive headphones. The governor is required to take action on the measure by June 2, although if he does nothing the bill will still become law. The only thing that would stop it would be a veto from the governor.
