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Florida 'arcade' busted for housing illegal gambling machines, deputies say

By Kiah Armstrong
Published  November 29, 2023 4:48pm EST
Brevard County
FOX 35 Orlando

Stream FOX 35 News Live

SEBASTIAN, FL - A Florida ‘arcade’ was busted for housing over 60 illegal gambling machines in Indian River County, deputies said. 

On Wednesday, the Indian River County Sheriff's Office executed a search warrant at the Moonlight Arcade located at 13429 U.S. Highway 1 in Sebastian, Florida. 

The arcade was reportedly ordered to shut down last month after being given a notice to cease operations, the sheriff's office said. 

They closed for a short time but reopened and continued allowing gambling inside the premises. 

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"Over a year ago, I approached the County Commission about an ordinance to ban these illegal gambling operations in our county," said Indian River County Sheriff Eric Flowers. "Many of these arcades started as innocent places for seniors but quickly turned into drug dens that ultimately brought other crimes such as robbery and theft."

Detectives removed over 60 gaming machines on Wednesday and the arcade can be fined up to $10,000 per machine.