Indian River County - Friday December 30, 2023: Indian River County Sheriff’s Office detectives, in conjunction with the Florida Gaming Control Commission, shut down the Moonlight Arcade Wednesday after charging the operator with illegal gambling.
Law enforcement officers executed a search warrant on November 29th at the Arcade located at 13429 US Highway 1 in Sebastian.
Detectives removed over 60 gaming machines. Florida Gaming Control Commission Chief of Law Enforcement Daniel DeCoursey, the owner of the arcade could potentially be fined up to $10,000 per machine.
IRC Sheriff Eric Flowers said the arcade has been operating as an illegal gambling house for some time. It was given notice to cease operations over a month ago. They closed for a short time but decided to reopen and continue their illegal gambling activities, he said.
“Over a year ago, I approached the County Commission about an ordinance to ban these illegal gambling operations in our county. 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," said Sheriff Flowers. "Additionally, these arcade machines are not regulated and the odds are stacked against our good intentioned citizens in a predatory way. Our team has been working hard to shutter the doors of the few remaining arcades left in Indian River County to implement an ordinance in the coming weeks”