Illegal Gambling Machine Owner Said He Had Permission To Put Machines In

*This story was updated at 4:18 p.m. to include the response from the Caledonia Village Clerk and again at 9:10 p.m. to include updated comments from the Department of Revenue and the Department of Justice.

The man who owns the gaming machines illegally placed in several area gas stations says it's time to consider changing the law. 

Daniel Takerian, owner of Primegamez LLC, owned the machines the state Department of Revenue ordered removed several Caledonia and Mount Pleasant gas stations. 

The DOR agents and officers recently inspected five gas stations for the illegal machines. . 

But in many cases, the gas station owners didn't own the machines. They belonged to Takerian. He said he took the machines out as requested, even though he had asked both villages for permission before bringing them in. 

Takerian said the state law is too ambiguous, and bars, restaurants and gas stations should be allowed to legally have gambling machines. And local municipalities are

“Are they allowing gambling in the state of Wisconsin?" Takerian asked. "Why, yes, they are, in the 12,000 bars and restaurants, so why can’t gas stations have them?”

Takerian started placing video gambling machines in gas stations two years ago because they are allowed to be in bars and restaurants and the police weren’t removing them. He said he’s also received permission from communities like Yorkville, Oak Creek, Racine, Milwaukee, Mount Pleasant and Caledonia to put them in gas stations.

Karie Torkilsen, clerk for the Village of Caledonia, said the Village doesn't license the machines.

"If an establishment chooses to have any gambling machines, they should be following state statute," she stated in an email.

But Roger Johnson, of the Department of Revenue, said no matter how you slice it, the games are illegal and licensing them amounts to licensing illegal activity.

"The games are illegal. Period," he said. "Municipalities can enact ordinances for local enforcement, but they can't license what is essentially contraband."

Takerian takes issue with the Department of Revenue’s position.

“While gambling is illegal and two wrongs don’t make a right,” Takerian said, “the bars and restaurants are allowed to have them, so why can’t the gas station next door have them? The gas stations are struggling just like the bars. A lot of the owners are saying: Why are we getting picked on?”

Takerian said he’s mad that his gas station owners can’t make money like the bars do and the games are needed to keep the doors open.

Several of Takerian’s games were also pulled out of a Mount Pleasant gas station, but those were what he calls sweepstakes machines and those machines comply with the state’s sweepstakes laws. They pay 5.1 percent sales tax on the machines.

Capt. Brian Smith, of the Mount Pleasant Police Department, confirmed that MJ Petroleum in the 2400 block of Racine Street had illegal video gambling machines and they were told to remove them.

The sweepstakes games, often called Internet kiosks, have a start and finish date, you can play the game for free and it has a set payouts.

“In Mount Pleasant they told me no problem, I put the games in and six months later I’m told to get them out,” Takerian said.

Special Agent Henry Morel of the DOR confirmed that had the Department of Justice made sweepstakes games legal, DOR agents would also know about it since they would probably fall under DOR jurisdiction. Dana Brueck, communications officer for the DOJ, said her department hasn't determined the legality of a sweepstakes game machine.

"We (DOJ) haven’t 'cleared' any machines, and we can’t really give any kind of opinion without looking at a particular machine," she said via email.

The games pulled out of a Caledonia station, however, were standard video gaming machines that had a payout.

“These games do what, make $500 per month?" Takerian said. "If we get even 1,000 statewide, that $500,000 statewide per month that the state could collect revenue on and with the economy the way it is, I think we could use that money. I think they should all be allowed. Put a user fee on them, and monitor them."