An intense discussion of legal interpretation, voter intent and the state constitution by high-priced, well-known lawyers boiled down to a simple question Thursday: Do lawmakers think arcades that offer cash prizes constitute gambling?

The answer was yes. House Bill 1234 passed the House Business Affairs and Labor Committee 12-0. The legislation fills in legal gaps left in a law banning “internet sweepstakes cafes” three years years ago that an El Paso County judge later was ruled constitutionally vague. The case ultimately could be decided by the state Supreme Court.

“We’ve already gotten one signal from a lower court that our statute was vague,” said House Majority Leader KC Becker of Boulder, the sponsor of both pieces of legislation, “not that we weren’t allowed to do it, not that our statute was unconstitutional in its policy desire, just the way it was written was vague, so we want to clarify that.”

Another sponsor, Rep. Paul Lundeen, R-Monument, told Colorado Politics before the hearing that the voters have allowed gambling in only three cities in the state and it’s the state’s job to make sure those wishes are upheld. Limited-stakes gambling is allowed only in Cripple Creek, Central City and Black Hawk, because voters passed a constitutional amendment in 1990.

“That challenge has been: what is gambling, what’s not gambling, and there’s been some back and forth in that,” he said. “Law enforcement, especially down in El Paso County, has a pretty significant issue with it, but when they tried to carry out the law they found it wasn’t really clear. The courts, albeit it a lower court, has opened the door to what many easily perceive as gambling.”

The legislation makes “simulated gambling devices” illegal.

The legislature’s decision to change the law could hurt a lot of small business owners who thought they were within the bounds of the law, based on the legislation passed three years ago.

“Our members have created a business model based on their knowledge of existing Colorado statutes,” said Chris Hawes, executive director of the Colorado Skill Games & Entertainment Association. “They know the difference between a game of chance, and they are games of skill. Our members are small mom-and-pop businesses.”

Arcade owners don’t think their games are any different from those played at Dave & Busters and Chuck E. Cheese. Those businesses give out prizes, and adult arcades give out cash.

Those businesses, along with other penny arcades, however, would remain legal under the proposed law. An amendment added Thursday would limit the value of prizes to no more than $25 in any single visit.

Tammy Garamova, who operates three arcades and is president of the trade association, said she and her husband invested their life savings in small businesses that the House Bill 1234 would shutter. The arcades operate under the same exemption that applies to fantasy sports leagues that pay out cash, which the Colorado legislature approved in 2016.

The effort is aimed at legislating companies out of businesses.

“If we were just getting around the law they were passing a couple of years ago, they wouldn’t be passing a new law today,” she said before the afternoon hearing.

“They have come in and seized our equipment and they haven’t charged us with a crime, They’ve threatened to come back and re-seize our equipment, and they’ve told us that whether they ever charge us with a crime, they can keep it if they believe it’s contraband.”

She asked the legislative committee about the paradox.

“Why are we trying to create a new law if the games are already illegal?” she said. “Those ideas are conflicting.”

Garamova and other arcade proponents argued that their games are based on skill of the player, not chance.

Former Denver city attorney Scott Martinez, representing the arcade association, and Democratic Party election lawyer Mark Grueskin, representing the Colorado Gaming Association casino trade group, tangled over the law, prompting lawyers on the committee to weigh in ultimately without any clear conclusion to the tangled legal questions.

“Is this a Chuck E. Cheese instance? No, it’s not,” Grueskin said. “No one goes home from Chuck E. Cheese either with a hole in their pocket, in terms of the cash they would have used to pay rent, or more importantly with cash in their pocket.”

He didn’t testify Thursday, but recently Denver City Councilman Paul D. Lopez told Colorado Politics that constituents in the western Denver neighborhoods he represents are concerned that “mini casinos” popping up in strip malls, He said they operate on the edge of legality and the legislature owed it to the public to provide clarity.

“We have no database for these,” he said. “If you ask me how many of these we have in the city – ask me? I have no idea. Neither do our folks down in excise and license. Our cops can enforce state and local laws, and if guys are in the basement of a restaurant throwing craps, they’re going to shut that down. Things like this? I don’t know. They’re on to it. And we had one on Federal Boulevard that got shut down, but you know what? They’re open again.”