Brief: Hundreds of firms charged with allowing underage gambling

Monday, Dec. 21, 1998 | noon

Police said they checked 1,080 businesses and charged 680 of them with allowing people under 21 to gamble.

The Times-Picayune in New Orleans reported anti-gambling lawmakers say the citations are proof of a widespread underage gambling problem. They point to high violation rates in a similar sting in New Orleans in August and say stricter regulations could be in store.

But bar and restaurant owners say a sting is the wrong way to judge the depth of the problem. And they complain that State Police tactics are unfair.

The police use underage undercover agents and informers to play video poker. If they successfully do so, the bar or restaurant owner is not immediately confronted by police.

Instead, the business receives a surprise citation in the mail weeks later and is given no opportunity to confront its accuser since police won't reveal the identity of their operatives.

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