“Fish game” arcades that have become popular in businesses across the metro have sparked crime and nuisance concerns, prompting the Des Moines City Council to launch a review of ways the city can regulate them.
Why it matters: The games are proliferating rapidly, yet under the current state law, DSM officials have little direct oversight of them, council members and police tell Axios.
Catch up quick: The Iowa Legislature revised the state’s social and charitable gambling law in 2015, mostly to modernize language dating back to the 1970s that focused on games like bingo.
- The overhaul included a new section for “electrical or mechanical amusement devices,” allowing merchandise prizes worth up to $50.
Zoom in: Now, “skill arcades” or “fish games” — gambling-style video tables that entice customers to catch virtual fish for prizes — are in about every neighborhood of the city, recently retired DSM City Councilman Chris Coleman tells Axios.
- Some are open 24 hours a day.
The intrigue: The games are licensed by the state, giving local governments limited power to regulate them.
- Coleman raised concerns during one of his final council meetings last month, prompting the council to unanimously ask the city’s legal department to review options.
- Possibilities include using DSM’s zoning, parking or nuisance enforcement rules to limit some of the activities, Councilperson Linda Westergaard tells Axios.
The big picture: Cities in other states have also wrestled with how to better oversee the games, with Charlotte, North Carolina, police warning that the arcades target low-income populations…