Gambling in Georgia remains illegal, as do the blurry lines as to whether or not cash-paying internet sweepstakes cafes fall within an exception to the statute.
Coweta Judicial Circuit District Attorney Peter Skandalakis recently dropped his petition against an internet sweepstakes cafe that LaGrange Police shut down last spring. Meanwhile, Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit District Attorney Julia Slater has remained consistent on her approach to the matter.
"I'm not saying that all of them are legal necessarily, but we evaluate on a case-by-case basis to see whether or not they are violating the law or fit within an exception," Slater said. "I don't feel like I go out on a limb. I feel like I am willing to take risks when I feel like somebody has violated the law, when it's clear that it's against the law."
Yet some internet cafes in Columbus have already shut down, even though the D.A. admits she isn't necessarily coming for them. At least two on Buena Vista Road appeared closed, including the one where two people were murdered last month. A Rainbow Foods manager, Paul Brown, said he is glad they are gone.
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