The same day Gov. John Kasich signed legislation that would effectively eliminate Internet cafes, opponents of the bill vowed to get voters to repeal it.
The bill signed Tuesday by Kasich would take effect in 90 days. But if a referendum effort succeeds in getting the issue on a statewide ballot, the law might not take effect for more than a year, if ever.
That effort will begin very quickly, said Mark Weaver, an attorney and consultant who will help organize the ballot issue. The effort will involve the internet cafe industry, but also others who want to see the businesses regulated, rather than banned.
To be successful, those opposing the law will have to collect a lot of signatures from registered voters — an amount equal to 6 percent of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election, said Matt McClellan, a spokesman for Secretary of State Jon Husted. That amounts to more than 231,000 names.
And those signatures cannot come from just the large urban centers. Rather, they must come from voters in at least 44 counties across the state.
And it all must be completed before the 90-day clock expires and the law takes effect.
If the effort is successful, the law would not take effect until voters get their say. And since the deadline to get this issue on the November ballot falls in early July, voters likely would not see the referendum until November 2014.
Lawmakers in both houses of the General Assembly approved the bill with strong bipartisan votes. Attorney General Mike DeWine, an advocate of the bill, said the legislation was needed to crack down on what he described as illegal mini-casino operations operating without regulation.
DeWine has argued that the cafes are fronts for illegal gambling and other serious crime, such as human trafficking and money laundering.
“The new law will provide Ohio law enforcement much needed clarity between legitimate sweepstakes and the illegal gambling which has been taking place at Internet cafes across Ohio,” DeWine said in a statement Tuesday.
His office, working with local law enforcement, had pledged to crack down on the industry. A spokesman for the attorney general said that effort could continue if the new law was delayed.
Opponents of the law argue that the so-called sweepstakes cafes are operating legally, and that they serve a role in their communities, paying taxes to local governments and providing employment.
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