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Citing costs associated with code enforcement at Beaumont game rooms, which are enterprises that are home to six or more gaming machines commonly referred to as 8-liners, officials are upping the cost of conducting such “entertainment” commodity in the municipality.
“It will not impact legitimate businesses,” City Attorney Sharae Reed said of the city’s improved game room ordinance, which now has a set of teeth to enforce keeping out criminal elements from what are stated legitimate venues. “It should just make our existing ordinance more effective.”
Reed said that signs, tags, background checks and inspections cost the city money – and that should be recouped from the game room purveyors, as allowed by law.
“The law allows us to impose fees that allows us to (recoup those costs),” Reed explained. “The purpose of the ordinance and the purpose of the fees is not to make a profit – it is to break even.”
“Firemen are expensive,” Reed added, as are badges, background checks and the like. “We did not have enough fee revenue to provide enforcement.”
A new fee schedule should cover costs: gaming locate form fee, $60; application fee, $3,000; renewal fee, $3,000; regulatory enforcement license fee per machine, $700; occupation tax per machine, $15; re-inspection fee, $150; replacement decals, $50; initial ID badge per employee, $120; and replacement badge, $100.
Further, a game room permit shall not be issued to the applicant unless the applicant acknowledges the following statement in the application:
“I am applying for a permit to operate a game room. I have actual knowledge of the operation of a game room. I acknowledge that any person operating a game room under this permit will do so under my direction and control.
“I further acknowledge that I may be held criminally liable for illegal activity associated with the game room under this permit, including gambling, gambling promotion, or keeping a gambling place…”
The ordinance now requires that game rooms “provide doors that are readily accessible without the use of a key, buzzer, or special knowledge or effort, during business hours or any other hours of operation,” Closed Caption Television (CCTV) camera systems and/or a security monitoring system installed at the owner’s expense that can be made available to law enforcement or city officials upon request, and membership is precluded.
“Any person denied entry based on any requirement of a game room membership is considered a separate violation,” the ordinance reads. Violations carry penalties not less than $200 for first offense; penalties are not less than $500 for second offenses.