Ohio has 667 Internet cafes with games, AG reports

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Attorney General Mike DeWine says Ohio has 667 Internet cafes, or more than twice the state's earlier estimate for the "sweepstakes" businesses, which offer games functioning like slot machines with cash prizes.

The new count is based on affidavits submitted by businesses under a law that created a one-year moratorium on new Internet cafes, where customers can play largely unregulated games.

Customers pay for Internet time or phone cards and use them to bet points on computers loaded with games such as poker.

DeWine is pushing lawmakers to enact more regulations for such facilities. He says the cafes could be generating hundreds of millions of dollars and there's no way to track where that money goes.

He says the cafes are primarily found in the northern half of the state.