Gambling Machines Seized from Suspected Storefront Casinos

Authorities seized 100 gambling machines from two suspected storefront casinos in the Flint, Michigan area on Wednesday, April 27.

23 gaming machines, $29,200 in suspected profits, and 62 gift cards were seized from the store properties. The raids occurred in Davison and Burton counties and were spurred by a joint investigation between the state Attorney General’s Office and the Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB). The investigation was based on a tip they received about the Burton location.

MGCB On Gambling Machine Raids

An example of gaming machines.

Henry Williams, MGCB Director, says “Illegal gambling brings unwanted crime to communities across Michigan and deprive school districts of gaming tax revenue from the state to support education…The MGCB works to educate citizens and businesses about illegal gambling and to support state and local officials’ efforts to remove machines illegally.”

While some types of gaming are legal across Michigan, these are limited to skill-based machines that give the player free plays at no additional cost, and the player cannot receive payment for the replays. Redemption for games is accepted when the game meets certain criteria, like:

• The outcome of the game is determined by player skill. If you cannot achieve the game objective on each page,
• The reward is based on the players’ skill or score,
• A prize, toy or other novelty rewarded for a single game-play can’t exceed $3.75,
• The redemption value cannot exceed 15 times the amount charged for every single play, or, a $3.75 average, whichever is less.
• Non-cash prizes, toys, or novelties are the only reward(s) allowed for players, and gift cards can be rewarded if they meet the following circumstances:
  • The gift card can be used at a retailer or affiliated group,
  • The gift card is a specific amount,
  • The gift card can only be redeemed for goods and services available from the retailer(s), and cannot be redeemed for cash.
  • Information from the gift card cannot be altered with a personal identification number.
• Players can redeem the coupon value or other indicated value for the single successful play of a game that doesn’t exceed 15 times the amount, but, players can gather coupons or other representations of value to redeem for noncash prizes, toys, or novelties of a greater value up to, but not exceeding, $500.00 wholesale value.

Players can only redeem based on the above criteria if the game requires skill, and doesn’t solely rely on chance.