Missouri has unregulated video lottery machines that are often found in gas stations, bars, VFWs, and American Legions. Some people say they are legal; other people disagree.
For years, some lawmakers have tried to regulate these machines, but other lawmakers and interested parties have blocked these efforts.
Rep. Bill Hardwick, R-Dixon, is proposing to regulate the machines – with some guardrails. The Missouri House Emerging Issues Committee has advanced his bill.
“It’s a lot of businesses that use those gaming devices and then have them to supplement their cash flow monthly. And I think that what we owe all the businesses the state of Missouri is regulatory certainty as to exactly what is authorized by the law, what exactly is not authorized by the law,” Hardwick told the committee during a public hearing on the bill.
Under House Bill 970, the machines would have 18 months to convert to approved lottery games. Approved machines would be marked to show that the state has signed off on them.
The money made would go to public education.
Rep. Brad Christ, R-St. Louis, supports the bill.
“We do need to place some regulation on this. Without regulation, it will continue to be the Wild Wild West. And so, I thought this was a fair start, and I think there will be work done still on the bill,” said Christ.
Rep. Matthew Overcast, R-Ava, voted in favor of the bill, but he said he’s still non-committal.
“As an attorney and a free market Republican, I see a lot of issues with this bill,” said Overcast. “And while I don’t like this bill as drafted, I do intend to vote yes to allow my 149 other colleagues to have their say. You know, absent significant changes, my vote today is not reflective of what I’ll do on the floor.”
Five committee members voted “no” on the legislation for a variety of reasons, including personal beliefs and the current bill wording. Rep. Barry Hovis, R-Cape Girardeau is one.
“I don’t think the bill is where it needs to be at, but I understand it’s a very big issue. I may not be opposed to voting allowed to go to the floor, but I ultimately may be no on this until those other items are fixed. I know we’ve not done the due diligence that I think is necessary,” said Hovis.
The next hoop to jump through is a fairly routine vote from another House committee.
Copyright © 2025 Missourinet