Utah lawmakers intensified their fight against fringe gambling in the state by passing an anti-gambling bill Wednesday. Fringe gambling allowed slot machine-like devices to be available at convenience stores across the state.
Representative Eric Hutchings likened it like cheap gas stations on the west side of Las Vegas. Despite the state’s constitution banning games of chance and lotteries, fringe gambling activities continued to rise in Utah.
Representative Timothy Hawkes sponsored SB 214 in House. He told online gambling news sites that operators find creative ways to exploit loopholes in the laws against games of chance. Also, they circumvent state laws by relocating machines from one convenience store to another.
Fringe Gambling in Utah
Aside from the gambling machines, convenience stores and gas stations become hotspots for other illegal activities, including prostitution and drug dealing. Based on online casino Korea reports, those who lose to gambling machines are people who can least afford to do so.
Hawkes encouraged other lawmakers to support the legislation by quoting a Bible verse about oppressors who grind the faces of poor people. The proposed bill defined machines that are legal. Also, it increased penalties for gambling machine owners. The proposal will allow people to request double damages for lost bets on gambling machines.
The bill passed the House with a vote of 63-8. It will go back to the Senate for a final vote. Also, Utah had a busy last day of the general session Thursday. Aside from the anti-gambling bill, lawmakers also repealed straight-party voting in the state.
Also, lawmakers watered down a bill to create a homelessness czar. It had low sports betting odds of getting approved because it faced opposition from homeless services providers in the state. In the final minutes of the session, the Senate rejected the bill with a vote of 13 for and 16 against.
