A Massachusetts arcade based in Salem, Bit Bar, is suing Gov. Charlie Baker over his coronavirus reopening plan claiming it should be allowed to open now.
The business claims arcade games are similar to casino slot machines and notes casinos are already up and running - with some limitations - under Baker’s reopening plan.
Bit Bar accuses the governor and the state of violating its First and Fourteenth Amendment rights, according to the lawsuit filed in a Boston federal court.
Bit Bar is represented by Randazza Legal Group, PLLC based in Gloucester, Mass. Randazza specializes in representing clients in First Amendment issues, copyright and trademark protection as well as infringement cases.
“Gov. Baker reiterated that arcades would be part of Phase 3 in an order of June 6, 2020,” wrote Marc J. Randazza, managing partner, founder of Randazza Legal Group, PLLC and lead counsel for the plaintiff in the lawsuit. “Suddenly, and without warning, explanation, or due process, on July 2, 2020, Gov. Baker ordered that Phase III enterprises may reopen beginning July 1, 2020, but shunted arcades to Phase 4. Casinos, however, were permitted to remain in Phase 3.”
Bit Bar, which is a trademark of Boston Bit Labs, Inc., argues that under Phase 3 of the coronavirus reopening plan, arcades that are set up in a similar way to a casino floor, have been ordered to shut and lose revenue, while casinos have been allowed to reopen earlier in the year.
Gaming arcades are under Phase 4 of the reopening plan. Along with amusement parks, theme parks and indoor or outdoor water parks.
Baker announced on July 6 that casinos were allowed to reopen as part of Phase 3 of the Massachusetts reopening plan. The decision came after the Massachusetts Gaming Commission approved a slew of reopening requirements.
"Deadly disease vectors from which customers must be protected,” the lawsuit states.
Some arcades have already said those types of businesses are struggling to survive amid the pandemic while waiting to reopen in Massachusetts.
For over 100 years and the family-owned arcade, Joe’s Playland has been a fixture at Salisbury Beach in Essex County. Owner, Fred Abdulla has had to also close his doors and lay off employees due to the reopening plan by the state.
“If the [Encore Boston Harbor] casino can reopen, then Joe’s [arcade] should be open. Casinos have the same type of touch surfaces that arcades do,” said Rep. Jim Kelcourse in an interview with the Eagle Tribune. “The Abdulla family has followed all of the guidance and played by all of the rules. They did everything they were supposed to do and, in my opinion, they went above and beyond the protocol. I just don’t think it’s reasonable to move arcades into Phase 4 because a place like Joe’s Playland has done everything they are supposed to do.”
The new guidelines for casinos include rules and recommendations for screening guests, including a requirement to make hand sanitizer available and a suggestion to conduct temperature checks. Social distancing guidelines for slots include a requirement that casinos turn off every other slot machine and remove chairs, and to either ensure a minimum of 6 feet between slot positions or install 6-foot-tall plexiglass dividers.
Perplex glass has been installed where the six feet of social distancing cannot be adhered to and slot machines have been shut down to promote social distancing. All this is in accordance to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission. (Douglas Hook / MassLive)
“Unless otherwise stated, businesses expected to be authorized to re-open in future phases will be subject to certain limitations and guidelines that will be provided at a later date,” states the Massachusetts reopening guidelines. “These limitations and guidelines will include a variety of mandatory context-specific COVID-19 safety measures such as occupancy limitations, operational modifications, social distancing rules, and specialized cleaning requirements.”
The lawsuit argues that the state of Massachusetts treats one sort of business differently than the other. Casinos are allowed to be open and operate, but video arcades that do not provide gambling services are not.
Legal if the game is switched off the lawsuit points out.
The complaint gives an example of the “stupidity” of the order issued by the governor. One of the arcade games is being used by Bit Bar as a table for customers to eat on. Under the current Phased reopening plan, that is within the law. However, if the arcade machine is turned on, it turns “into deadly disease vectors from which customers must be protected,” Randazza said sarcastically in the lawsuit.
“Nobody really cares about small businesses until they make a federal lawsuit out of their stupidity, or perhaps there is someone in the Baker administration who still subscribes to the moral panic surrounding video games,” Randazza wrote.
Randazza argues on behalf of Bit Bar, that Cassandra Pierre, an infectious disease specialist at the Boston Medical Center stated that both arcades and slot machines are high touch surfaces and that users would be exposed to the same amount of risk.
The lawsuit states that when Bit Bar addressed their concerns with government officials, they based their determinations on input from public health experts.
Those experts are the Reopening Advisory Board, which is being Co-Chaired by Lt. Governor Karyn Polito and Housing and Economic Development Secretary Mike Kennealy.
The board includes representatives from the business community, public health officials, and municipal leaders from across the Commonwealth. This group is charged with advising the administration on strategies to reopen the economy in phases based on health and safety metrics.
MassLive has reached out to the Baker administration for comment.
Related Content:
- Massachusetts to enter Phase 3, allow casinos, gyms, museums to reopen as early as Monday
- Encore Boston Harbor set to reopen July 12
- A week into Encore Boston Harbor’s reopening, the state’s eastern casino looks to the future