OGDEN — Prosecutors have filed six criminal charges against a 43-year-old man after a State Bureau of Investigation probe into alleged illegal gambling at an Ogden smoke shop.

Biplob Khanal, of Salt Lake City, was named in charges filed Thursday by the Weber County Attorney’s Office relating to activities at Smoke Shop and More, 314 Washington Blvd.

An SBI agent said in a probable cause statement that he conducted an undercover investigation, playing a fishing game on a device inside the smoke shop on several visits from Sept. 28 to Feb. 8.

He said the machine accepted cash in return for credits to play the game. Killing fish won credits, but payouts of credits were diminishing, he said. “With the randomness and changing of the credits that you receive, this is not a game of skill but (appears) to be a game of chance intended to create a profit for the owner/operator,” the affidavit said.

Unused credits could be used to buy items from a prize cabinet or as smoke shop credits. The agent said he never came out ahead in credits while playing the game.

The affidavit said agents later served a search warrant and found alleged online gambling cards with cash payouts in the shop’s back office.

Khanal was charged with third-degree felony providing online gambling; class B misdemeanor gambling; and four counts of class A misdemeanor fringe gaming devices. State law defines such devices as those providing a user with a card, token, credit, gift certificate, product or opportunity to participate in a contest, game, gaming scheme or sweepstakes with a potential return of money or other prize.

Khanal’s connection to the alleged gambling business was not immediately clear. Charging documents did not specify his relationship, and James Swink, the county prosecutor who filed the charges, said he could not discuss the case beyond the charging documents.

Khanal was not in custody and did not have an attorney of record as of Friday afternoon. Prosecutors filed a request in 2nd District Court for a judge to issue a summons ordering Khanal to appear in court on the charges.

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