A bill that would legalize video lottery terminals (VLTs) in Missouri is stuck in limbo with only a handful of weeks remaining in the 2025 legislative session. The odds of it passing seem slim, as the conflicting interests of the state’s casinos and “gray machine” industry have put lawmakers in a bind.
House Bill 970 would allow VLTs to be commissioned by the Missouri Lottery. Despite initially rapid progress following the bill’s introduction in January, activity has petered out. Missouri casinos don’t want to see additional competition unless it means the removal of unregulated gaming devices. However, the makers of those machines also hold some political sway.
Despite various amendments to the bill, it doesn’t look like legislators will find a compromise that would garner enough support to get the bill through in 2025.
Original HB970 would phase out gray market machines
Multiple bills were introduced regarding Missouri VLTs over the last year. Senate Bill 16 was introduced in January, seeking to legalize the machines. However, that hasn’t seen any movement since Jan. 16.
The focus shifted to HB970, a bill that was introduced in late January and cleared a committee in just 12 days. It has since stalled and now has until May 16 to get through legislation in 2025.
The bill is backed by House Speaker Jon Patterson, but he’s having trouble finding enough support among fellow Republicans.
One of the biggest issues is that the bill originally called for the gray market machines to be phased out once VLTs launched in Missouri.
These gray market, or “no-chance machines,” are found around the state in convenience stores, bars, and truck stops. However, they are unregulated by the state. Although they function similarly to slots, they display the result of each spin ahead of time. They also use a pre-generated sequence of results rather than generating random numbers in real-time.
The manufacturers say those features eliminate the element of chance and makes the machines not a gambling product, legally speaking. However, players still pay for losing spins in order to see if the next one will be a winner.
The lack of regulatory oversight is Patterson’s motivation to see the bill through. He declared as much during a weekly House Republican news conference.
“If people are doing it, I would rather have them regulated and taxed and to make sure that kids aren’t doing it. So I’m in favor of the bill itself.”
Bill’s sponsor adjusts gray market language
HB970 was sponsored by Rep. Bill Hardwick (R-Dixon), who called for the gray market machines to be phased out.
However, that drew the ire of retailers around the state, as well as lobbyists in support of the gaming form. Particularly, Torch Electronics, one of the largest gray market operators, came out against the bill. Torch has exerted significant influence on gambling in Missouri in the past.
Now, Hardwick is looking to amend the current version of HB970. The new bill would allow retailers to choose between VLTs or no-chance machines. However, it would not allow a single establishment to host both forms of gaming.
The bill would cut the number of gaming machines allowed at a maximum of eight at each location. It would also allow local governments to vote on whether they wanted to allow the terminals in their jurisdictions.
During the House Republican news conference, Hardwick said he believed that these changes would help get HB970 to move forward.
“I think that we can pass it out of the House. I think that we should pass it out of the House.”
While adjusting the language could appease some retailers, it’s still an adjustment and potential loss of revenue they will not easily accept.
Casinos not happy with either outcome
Another chess piece in this legislation is the opposition that casinos have to both forms of gambling.
The Missouri Gaming Association has come out against the gray market machines, calling them criminal gambling devices. However, they also believe that HB970 is an unconstitutional piece of legislation.
Their stance is that the only legal form of gambling in the state should take place at the 13 casinos licensed by the Missouri Gaming Commission.
Casinos see either gray machines or VLTs as likely to pull from their revenue. As the major form of regulated gambling in the state, they have a vested interest in minimizing the amount of competition they face.
The casino industry’s political importance and resistance to VLTs was one of the factors that prevented Missouri from legalizing sports betting until last year. Previous attempts had included VLT legalization alongside sports betting, leading the casino industry to oppose the efforts.
In 2024, Missouri finally got sports wagering through, but had to do so without VLTs on the bill. A standalone VLT bill, though it could produce a projected $350 million in state funding by fiscal year 2028, seems to have too many influential forces opposing it to pass.
