By Lisa Roberson and Steve Fogarty

The likelihood that one day Elyria or North Ridgeville could become home to Internet sweepstakes cafes has prompted the City Councils in both communities to craft legislation that would make it difficult to start such a venture.

The industry that is a step below game slot gambling is taking hold in cities across the state. They are storefront establishments in strip malls and shopping plazas that allow customers to buy phone cards loaded with minutes that can be used to play games on the Internet. The phone card keeps track of the winnings by way of points that can be traded for cash and prizes.

Except for four proposed casinos that voters approved, casino-style gambling is largely illegal in Ohio. However, such cafes skirt the law because players are not paying for the game but for the Internet time via a phone card.

The cafes are not in Elyria yet, city officials said, and in North Ridgeville, the city already has been approached by businessmen who were interested in setting up such an operation, Law Director Andrew Crites said.

“They asked what the city’s policies are regarding them, and we had to tell them we have no policy,” Crites said.

Elyria’s City Council expressed the same concerns.

“These places are popping up all over the place, and the last thing we want to do is be a place that has no regulation or legislation,” said Councilwoman Mary Siwierka, D-at large. “There is nothing we can do to stop this industry from coming into Elyria.”

In Elyria, the legislation, which was modeled on an ordinance from Brook Park, was passed Tuesday evening and will require a license for a cafe to open, with a separate license required for each computerized sweepstakes device. The cafe license is $5,000, while the license for each device is $30 per month.

“That means that if they want to have 20 machines, they will have to buy a $30 license for each machine every month,” Siwierka said. “Not only will they need these licenses, but they will also need to pay for every other permit from the Building Department to operate in the city.”

Elyria Law Director Terry “Pete” Shilling said the price tag on the licenses is not to keep the cafes out of Elyria by making it cost-restrictive.

“The idea is not to prevent them from coming, because we know people are looking at Elyria as a place to set up shop,” he said. “We just don’t want there to be no ordinances on the books. Then, we will have no way of regulating what they do or how they operate. This way we can have some sort of regulations in place and make some money in the process.”

Money collected will go to the city’s general fund.

Not all Council members were in favor of the legislation.

Members Donna Mitchell, D-6th Ward, Mark Craig, I-4th Ward and Larry Tanner, D-1st Ward, voted against it.

“I just don’t think we should be inviting those types of establishments to come to Elyria,” Craig said. “We are basically rolling out the welcome mat.”

Shilling said the city will not regulate how many cafes can come to the area but will let the market decide how many can survive in Elyria.

In North Ridgeville, the regulations were introduced Tuesday and will be considered by the Council at a later date.

Contact Lisa Roberson at 329-7121 or lroberson@chroniclet.com and Steve Fogarty at 329-7146 or sfogarty@chroniclet.com.

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