Sumter County is seeking temporary court injunctions to close three Lady Lake internet cafes that continue to operate eight months after their permits were revoked.
Cafe operators are appealing the revocations and say they were advised they may continue to operate during the appeal process.
The cafes are Player’s Place, the Senior Social Center and the Sunshine Arcade. All are on U.S. 441.
Also known as fish games, internet cafes skirt Florida gambling laws by offering cash prizes to winners. Cafe operators claim they are legal because they are sweepstakes games, not slot machines.
During undercover operations last July, sheriff’s deputies reported illegal slot machines at eight operating internet cafes. Commissioners revoked their annual operating permits in early September.
After the revocations, the cafe operators filed petitions to continue operations during their appeals but the court has not ruled on them.
The cafes closed temporarily, then reopened, and were operating several weeks ago.
The county maintained that continued operation “is causing immediate and irreparable injury to the residents and property owners in the vicinity.”
Represented by Jacksonville attorney Kelly Mathis, five cafes have challenged the shutdown. Besides the Lady Lake cafes, they also include Dreamer’s Arcade and Big Shots of Bushnell and Lake Panasoffkee.
In court filings, the cafe operators claim the county offered no proof that the machines were illegal. Machines were not seized as evidence.
Under the permits, cafes were subject to monthly building code and safety inspections and had few violations.
A five-month investigation last year of the Il Villagio cafe, also in Sumter County, by the Florida Gaming Commission resulted in charges against the owner and two employees of money laundering, keeping a gambling house and possession of illegal coin-operated devices.