DeLeo proposes ban on cyber cafes

By Michael Levenson, Globe Staff

House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo, a longtime champion of legalizing slot parlors in Massachusetts, said today he wants to ban gamblers from playing online slots at so-called cyber cafés.

DeLeo said the cafes claim to sell phone cards and other products, but only as a pretext to allow gamblers to play online slots and other games. Gamblers then win “points” in the online games which can be redeemed for cash at the cyber café.

The Winthrop Democrat said he is filing legislation that would ban the cafes, by making it a crime to conduct or promote a sweepstakes with an electronic machine. Offenders could be fined up to $250,000 per machine or spend up to 15 years in state prison.

“Owners of these establishments are taking advantage of their patrons and scamming them out of money,” DeLeo said in a statement. “This is unacceptable and I look forward to seeing this legislation passed into law.”

Attorney General Martha Coakley, who has been cracking down on the cafes for several months, praised DeLeo’s efforts.

“These cyber cafés are really cyber scams with no posted odds, minimum odds, or guarantee of payouts for patrons,” she said in a statement. “This bill makes certain that companies cannot skirt our laws.”

The legislation exempts the state lottery, as well as betting on horse races, bingo and charitable gambling events.

While DeLeo is attempting to ban the cyber cafés, he is also working behind the scenes with Senate President Therese Murray and Governor Deval Patrick on legislation to legalize casino gambling in Massachusetts.

DeLeo, whose district includes Suffolk Downs in East Boston, is also a longtime supporter of legalizing slot parlors at horse tracks, which he calls an essential economic lifeline for the struggling horse-racing industry.

The Legislature plans to debate gambling bills in September, after Labor Day.