General NLG Chat > Rants and Raves (SEE DESCRIPTION BEFORE ENTERING!)

"Possesion of gambling machines illegal"

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sirius7:
So pretty much everyone knows what a nanny state Utah is, but at least it's been legal to own slot machines for recreational use.  The State Legislature recently narrowed their definition of "Fringe Gambling" to crack down on machines in convenience stores that grant "sweepstakes" type winning with the purchase of a gift card, something they saw as a loophole.


Fortunately the law still states:


"Effective 5/14/2019[/size] [/size]76-10-1105.  Possessing a gambling device or record. (1)A person is guilty of possessing a gambling device or record if the person knowingly possesses the gambling device or record with intent to use the gambling device or record in gambling or fringe gambling."


So as long as you aren't using it for gambling, it's legal.  Same as most state that allow ownership of machines.


So what is my rant?  Articles like the following, saying "possession of a gambling machine is a Class B Misdemeanor" with no such clarification.  Virtually every news outlet that covered this story has said the same thing.


https://fox13now.com/2019/05/16/new-law-in-place-as-millions-of-dollars-are-lost-to-illegal-gambling-in-utah/

smoothgrh:
As someone who used to be part of the news business, I can see how people who don't know the details can oversimplify to get the story out.

The news has done a terrible job in reporting slot malfunction stories, such as when a machine says someone won $4 million in credits when the top payout is $10,000.

gameking6:
The press not reporting the facts??
That's a first.

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