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PRICE — A loophole in Utah’s anti-gambling laws closed when a new law took effect this week, and officials in Carbon County promptly seized a handful of gambling machines.
Price City police officers and agents from the Carbon Metro Drug Task Force served a search warrant Wednesday at the Castle Country Hobby and Pawn store at 828 E. Main Street. They seized 14 slot machines and three coin pusher machines from the store, according to a news release.
The coin pushers were “actively working,” and police seized an undisclosed amount of cash from those machines, according to the release.
The slot machines had “out of order” signs taped to them but were all plugged in and thought to be functional, police said. No money was seized from those machines, police said.
Police had investigated several complaints from citizens about the machines over the past several months, according to the news release.
The Utah Legislature passed a new law in February outlawing “fringe gambling.” The law closed a loophole allowing certain slot machine-like devices. It took effect Tuesday, making possession of the machines illegal.
The bill, HB23, was meant to ensure that no gambling is taking place in Utah, according to the bill’s sponsor. All other forms of gambling are illegal in the state.
