State Seizes 87 Illegal Slot Machines in Fremont and Findlay
FREMONT, Ohio — State investigators seized 87 suspected illegal slot machines in two separate searches in Fremont and Findlay, The Blade reported Monday.
In Fremont, the Ohio Casino Control Commission and Fremont Police Department searched Players Circle, 1306 Oak Harbor Rd., and seized 28 slot machines, along with an undisclosed amount of money. Officials said the investigation began after complaints that the business was operating gaming machines in violation of Ohio law.
“It has been consistently demonstrated that illegal gambling harms communities, undermines public safety, and negatively impacts the Ohioans who live in them,” said Andromeda Morrison, the commission’s interim executive director. “Shutting down this illegal gambling site will prevent further harm to the community.”
Morrison said the commission’s enforcement efforts remain focused on rooting out illegal gambling operations and working with law enforcement partners to uphold the integrity of gaming in Ohio.
The Findlay seizure came last week, when commission officials and local police searched the Bank at 2720 N. Main St. and seized 59 suspected illegal slot machines, along with an undisclosed amount of money. Together, the Fremont and Findlay seizures account for all 87 machines.
The 87-machine total does not include a separate, earlier seizure in Findlay. In early October, the commission and Findlay police seized 28 gambling machines from Shamrock Skill in the 1000 block of Tiffin Avenue.
No arrests or charges were reported in The Blade’s account of either search. A seizure during an investigation is not a finding of wrongdoing against any named business unless charges are confirmed.
The two northwest Ohio searches are part of a broader statewide crackdown. The Ohio Casino Control Commission has seized or disabled more than 8,800 unlawful devices statewide and served more than 200 search warrants in its enforcement efforts against unlicensed gambling.
Photo: Tristan Surtel / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) — slot machines (file photo, not the seized machines)
