Gambling arcades aren’t legal in Colorado, except in communities that vote to tax and regulate them. That means no one gets to run slot machines outside of Cripple Creek, Central City or Black Hawk.

That has not stopped a proliferation of about 30 slot machine businesses, known as “internet sweepstakes cafes,” from popping up throughout the state, primarily in Pueblo, Grand Junction and metropolitan Denver.

House Bill 1234, slated for hearing in the House Business Affairs and Labor Committee on Thursday, should put a stop to this flouting of the law.

Gov. John Hickenlooper signed legislation crafted to stop the illegal gaming in 2015, but technical problems in the wording of the law obstructs enforcement.

“Prosecutions under the act ensued, and in 2017 a county and district court judge in El Paso County each examined the act and concluded that it is unconstitutionally vague,” 4th Judicial District Attorney Dan May wrote in a letter to state Rep. Tracy Kraft-Tharp, a Democrat and chair of the House Business Affairs and Labor Committee.

May believes the new bill better defines “gambling,” which should clear things up for the courts.

Grand Junction City Councilman Duncan McArthur wrote to Kraft-Tharp to say gambling machines are proliferating in his community in violation of the Colorado Constitution’s requirement for voter approval.

Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers, former Colorado attorney general, also wrote his support for the bill in a letter to Kraft-Tharp. The Colorado Municipal League, Colorado Counties Inc., Attorney General Cynthia Coffman, the Colorado Council of District Attorneys, the Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police, Denver and Aurora support the bill.

Gambling cafes create confusion by telling law enforcement, and the courts, their slot machines are not games of chance. Rather, the machine owners insist, winning involves “skill.” The “skill” may be little more than a requirement to move one digit manually before pulling the lever. It’s a joke because the machines operate almost identically to traditional slot machines. They risk each player’s money with a promise of riches.

Even if one buys the flimsy “skill” excuse, the Colorado Constitution expressly includes games of skill if they cost money to play and offer potential rewards in the definition of “slot machine.”

Voters throughout Colorado have repeatedly rejected widespread gambling and have allowed expansion only in communities that vote for it and impose strict regulations to protect gamers and everyone else. As recently as 2014, voters overwhelmingly rejected expansion of gaming by 70.23 percent of the vote.

There’s a reason Colorado residents don’t want rogue, unregulated, untaxed gambling holes. Organized crime traditionally monopolizes unregulated gaming. Supporters of HB1234 cite police data that show higher crime rates in areas with illegal gambling. They believe profits from unregulated gaming fuel human trafficking and other sordid criminal activities.

It is hard to believe we need another law to stop what is clearly illegal. But we trust state prosecutors, judges and cops who say the law remains too vague.

Legislators should fix this loophole and stop this latest trend of unlawful gambling. Put HB1234 on the governor’s desk. This is common sense.