Sweepstakes Cafe Battle Heats Up in Palm Harbor

Fun City isn't that fun anymore. The doors of the once popular Palm Harbor sweepstakes cafe are now locked shut. A note someone taped on the glass window lets customers know about a different cafe they can visit just a few miles away, across the Pinellas County line. 

A woman who works near Fun City spoke to Palm Harbor Patch Tuesday afternoon, "They were doing pretty well, they were doing a pretty good business, usually the parking lot is full right now" she said, asking not to be identified.

Sweepstakes Cafes have been popping up all over Florida. They sell phone cards that also contain free sweepstakes points that can be used to play online games in the cafe.

A letter from Pinellas County Sheriff Jim Coats may be the reason the doors at Fun City are locked. On May 13, the sheriff sent the letter to owners of four sweepstakes cafes in Pinellas County, three of those cafes are right here in Palm Harbor.

The letter claimed that owners of the cafes are operating businesses that use illegal coin-operated gambling devices, which in previous instances has resulted in criminal charges filed against the owners. Coats cited Florida Gambling Statutes 849.15, 849.16 and 849.01.

The letter said if the businesses were still operating in 15 days, the sheriff's office could investigate further.

Shortly after the letters were sent out, Palm Harbor Patch spoke with Fun City owner, State Rep. Peter Nehr of Palm Harbor. On that day, a steady stream of customers visited the tidy sweepstakes cafe, which is located in a nondescript shopping complex on US 19.

Nehr said that Fun City is not a gambling operation, the business offers sweepstakes, similar to promotions offered at fast food restaurants, where a customer might buy a large fries and also get a free scratch-off.

Nehr says at his sweepstakes cafe, customers buy a phone card and receive a set amount of sweepstakes points that can be used to play games on computers there. Game winnings are dispersed by cashiers at the cafe.

"There is no chance and the most important thing is there is no risk, and that's the difference between gambling and not gambling," he said. Nehr said his business is perfectly legal and he had his lawyers look everything over before he purchased it last spring.

Nehr has not spoken to Palm Harbor Patch since then, he did not return phone calls or respond to emails Tuesday afternoon.

A few blocks south on US 19, the owner of another sweepstakes cafe is taking a much different response to the letter, a court battle. The owner of Reel Fun, Charles Bartlett Sr. has hired attorney, Lawrence Crow, who says he is very familiar with Florida gambling laws.

Crow is seeking an injunction in civil court to stop the sheriff from confiscating the computers used at the Reel Fun sweepstakes cafe.

"In criminal law a person is innocent until proven guilty, we're indicating the business should be left alone while the sheriff sorts this out," said Crow.

Crow says his client is not breaking the law. The owner of Reel Fun has also offered to give the sheriff's office one computer terminal to examine, as part of the effort to convince the sheriff that the computers they use are legal.

The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office received word of the injunction Tuesday. Spokesperson Marianne Pasha says the office is still evaluating its options and does not normally comment on pending legal matters.

The high cost of a legal battle against the sheriff may be why Nehr locked the doors of Fun City. Nehr mentioned the cost during his prior conversation with Palm Harbor Patch.

"If I have to go to court it costs in the nature of $25,000 to $50,000 to defend myself. And, if I'm found innocent, I don't get the money back… I'd be out all that money for no reason," he said.

As for the investigation into the sweepstakes cafes and the deadline that passed over the Memorial Day weekend, Pasha says no arrests have been made, "We're evaluating their level of compliance so far," she said.

The third Palm Harbor business that received a letter from the sheriff is the An employee told Palm Harbor Patch, that the day the letter was received, any computers that may have been targeted by the sheriff, were removed.