Saturday, January 13, 2007

Tic Tac Fruit could turn out to be a lemon for Ohioans if state legislators
fail to do something about it and similar ''games of chance.'' Tic Tac Fruit
is familiar to many in Trumbull County. It is a video gaming machine that
looks and operates much like a video gambling machine. It gained popularity
last year because its promoters, claiming it was not subject to the state's
laws against gambling, opened up parlors with Tic Tac Fruit and similar
machines in many areas of the state, including ours. Now, Treasure Island
parlors in Warren, Austintown and Boardman, and other parlors in Lordstown,
Cortland, Masury and Weathersfield house Tic Tac Fruit and similar games.
The machines' promoters say they are not gambling devices because players
affect the outcome - whether they win or lose. But late last year, a judge
in Franklin County Common Pleas Court ruled that Tic Tac Fruit is a gambling
device. He noted that the machines are programmed to guarantee that
operators will make profits of 5 percent of the amount of money pumped into
each device. That means that player skill is not the critical factor, the
judge ruled. His ruling backs up the state Liquor Control Commission, which
has banned Tic Tac Fruit and similar games in licensed bars. But the judge
warned that new gaming machines - all designed to rake in money in large
quantities from players - will be designed. That may make it more difficult
for the courts to rule that such devices are illegal gambling machines, he
said. Ohio Skill Games attorney Kurt Gearhiser said the company has already
made improvements so that the games are more skill-based. Therefore, he
said, the Columbus court ruling is irrelevant. That is why the legislature,
not the court, needs to address the issue.
Also, there are multiple versions of these games because manufacturers are
constantly upgrading the machines. Officials must make certain they only
seize versions that the court determined to be illegal. Again, the
legislature could intervene and make all of them illegal. In November, Ohio
voters said ''no'' to legalized machine gambling at racetracks and a few
other locations. We believe they also want to prohibit electronic one-armed
(or one-buttoned) bandits from masquerading as games. That makes it
essential for legislators to take another look at Ohio's gambling laws and
close loopholes that allow devices such as Tic Tac Fruit.