Internet Cafes Starting To Pull The Plug In Ohio

It isn't taking long for a new state law banning storefront sweepstakes parlors in Ohio to have an impact. Two Internet cafes in Columbus were locked on Friday, the day the law took effect. A company that provides software and Internet service to cafes in the state has canceled its contracts with those sites. Another provider agreed to stop doing business in the state in a plea deal settling a gambling case brought against it by Cuyahoga County's prosecutor. Backers of the ban say the parlors harbor illegal gambling. Opponents of the state law that effectively bans the parlors dropped their effort to place a repeal request on the November 2014 ballot.