Have you heard of sweepstakes cafes?
They are popping up all around the state and right here in our back yard but a lot of state leaders think they're simply covers for gambling and the Governor, Attorney General, and Georgia Bureau of Investigation are taking a closer look and so is News Three Community Reporter Alice Massimi.
The City of Savannah has issued a 180-day moratorium on accepting new zoning permits for sweepstakes cafes.
One of the suspected cafes News Three was told about by city staff is located on DeRenne Avenue, another off of Abercorn. From the outside, it appears to be an office supply store.
Inside, however, it's set up like an internet cafe, where patrons participate in sweepstakes and some claim cash prizes are awarded.
Here's how they generally work around the country -- customers pay for internet time loaded on a card and get "free" sweepstakes entries. Customers can use the internet time to do whatever they please.
Most use the sweepstake entries and play slot-style computer games that can have up to 30,000 dollar jackpots.
Owners of the cafes claim it's legal because people are not paying for a chance to win; they're paying for computer time -- a technicality that's being debated in Florida and Georgia
"The concern is it's really a form of gambling that's not sanctioned. They are using a loophole and you see them popping up all over the community. The problem that I have with it is you see the folks sitting in there all night long, and they don't need to be sitting in there all night long spending their money," says Alderman Tony Thomas whose district some of the cafes are located in.
The two cafes we checked out today were not open.
One had a sign saying it was closed until further notice, another saying it was updating the computers.
Depending on how current investigations go, it may become an issue in the state legislature in 2012.
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