The Gadsden County State’s Attorney’s Office wants the City of Quincy to repeal an ordinance officials say is causing confusion for residents.
Under a 2020 ordinance, Quincy authorizes internet cafes, an illegal gambling business that the Florida Legislature outlawed in 2013.
Quincy City Manager Robert Nixon said last Thursday that the businesses have continued to operate, and the city commission passed the ordinance to regulate them.
“This is basically to ensure that we are monitoring them and that we understand what is going on within our borders," Robert said during a city workshop meeting Thursday."
Just because a city says it's okay, doesn’t mean operating an internet cafe is legal
Under the ordinance, café owners must register their business with the city and pay certain fees.
Any café owner can be served a search warrant from the state and anyone who participates in illegal gambling, can face hefty fines, jail time, or both.
“Whatever ordinance they’re doing, does not trump the Florida law," said Jack Campbell, the State Attorney for the Second Judicial Circuit.
🚨🚨BREAKING: Gaming Control Commission Special Agents, @FLHSMV’s Rapid Response Team, JCSO, and HCSO make arrests, shut down illegal gambling houses, and seize 179 suspected illegal gambling devices! #FLGaming #LawAndOrder pic.twitter.com/hq0TkBF9oi
— Florida Gaming Control Commission (@FLGamingControl) April 10, 2024
The Florida Gaming Control Commission confiscated 70 illegal gaming machines last December in Havana. Attorney Campbell told WFSU that could happen to internet café owners in Quincy too.
“Regardless of what the city commission of Quincy wants to do, our office, as the State Attorney's Office, will continue to enforce the law," Campbell said. "The citizens need to know that whatever ordinance, will not be a legal defense to what happens.”
The Quincy Commission will decide whether to permanently shut down the cafes or to enforce stricter rules during the next commission meeting on August 13.
