In 2023, the arcade crackdown had reached Lee County.
The Florida Gaming Control Commission sent letters to more than 50 arcades in the area, warning they may be operating illegally.
Sheriff's deputies swarmed several of the small strip mall casinos, hauling off slot machines by the dozens.
Amid the raids emerged one main question: Would this signal the end of illegal arcades for good in Lee County?
ARCADES STILL IN ABUNDANCE, EVEN AFTER 2023 CRACKDOWN
More than a year after the shutdown of several arcades in Lee County, Gulf Coast News took a drive down U.S. 41 to find out if any others were still in operation.
From North Fort Myers to Alico Road, Gulf Coast News counted more than a dozen arcades on that stretch alone.
Each one was open, and each had slot machines inside — the very element that makes them illegal.
While some arcades made it clear what’s happening inside with exterior signage, others are nondescript and discreet.
What’s not a mystery is that more than a year after the crackdown, arcades aren’t going anywhere.
“It's a sort of a paradox that you can commit a crime openly, visibly, and make money off it and have no recourse,” attorney Kevin Jursinski, who’s worked in gaming law for 30 years, told Gulf Coast News.
He, too, has noticed the lack of enforcement on arcades.
“It may be for legitimate reasons. Perhaps they (law enforcement) have other priorities. This is maybe not high on the list of crimes they want to crack down on,” he said.
There’s also something else that’s been unable to prevent the proliferation of arcades.
LAW ENFORCEMENT TO LAWMAKERS: ‘MISDEMEANORS ARE NOT CUTTING IT’
In January, the Florida Gaming Control Commission, law enforcement and prosecutors all testified before the House Industries and Professional Activities Subcommittee about illegal arcades, advocating for tougher penalties for operators.
They need a change in law for that to happen.
“Misdemeanors are not cutting it,” Ross Marshman of the Florida Gaming Control Commission told lawmakers.
“There is zero disincentive for these establishments to close down,” Chief Ed Cayenne of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said.
“This need to be felonies in order for there to be enough juice for the squeeze,” Sara Hassler, an assistant state attorney, told lawmakers.
The group admitted that another challenge for law enforcement is deterring people from going to arcades. Many people Gulf Coast News has spoken with see them as harmless fun.
FROM BURGLARIES TO MURDER: OTHER CRIMES HAPPENING AT ARCADES
Those pushing for a change in law insist arcades aren’t harmless but are a hotspot for other crimes.
Within the past few years, Gulf Coast News has reported on nearly 20 crimes at arcades across our area, including everything from break-ins , burglaries and robberies to even a murder that happened at an arcade in Lee County.
“All this activity is not regulated. Not taxed. One hundred percent illegal,” Jim Allen, CEO of Seminole Gaming, told Gulf Coast News.
While their casinos are regulated by the state, there are no regulations for illegal arcades to ensure players actually win money.
Arcades aren’t taxed like legitimate casinos, either.
“We, Seminole Hard Rock, pay the state of Florida over $750 million," Allen said. “Which obviously goes back to help all the citizens of the state of Florida."
Of all the arcades Gulf Coast News stopped into, not a single owner has gotten back about an interview.
Some former arcades have closed for good after warnings from the state. Whether a change in law will happen — and spark more shutdowns — is a tough bet to make right now.
“From a standpoint of law, it's absolutely illegal in all 67 counties,” Jursinski said. “Not some counties, not the majority of counties. In every county."