alleged illegal slot machines Archives

Sports betting and alleged illegal slots addressed in Missouri House committee report

December 3, 2019 By Brian Hauswirth

Legislation legalizing sports wagering has the backing of a bipartisan Missouri House gaming committee.

State Rep. Dan Shaul, R-Imperial, speaks on the Missouri House floor in Jefferson City on May 17, 2019 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

The Missouri House Special Interim Committee on Gaming held five hearings between late August and November, and completed its 15-page report on Monday. Committee Chairman State Rep. Dan Shaul, R-Imperial, tells Missourinet it’s now being circulated for signatures.

The committee report views the legalization of sports betting as a “legitimate opportunity to increase state revenues” for education and other programs. By 2020, 18 states will have implemented sports wagering. The report concludes that Missouri would likely lose revenue if it doesn’t remain competitive with other states.

The report also says the state should focus on preserving and growing both the Missouri Lottery and casino gaming, in order to increase revenue for education.

The state has 13 licensed riverboat casinos.

Chairman Shaul describes the report as a status report, to the full House.

“We want to give the General Assembly a set of facts, a set of baseline of where we’re at, and what some problems are out there,” Shaul says.

The report says age restrictions are important and should be used to prevent minors from gambling. The report also says the bulk of sports wagering revenues should be directed to fund education.

Major League Baseball (MLB) representative Jeremy Kudon traveled to Jefferson City in November to testify before the committee. He testifies that Missourians are expected to wager $5.5 billion annually on sports, if it’s legalized. Kudon predicts that casino operators would make about $376 million a year from that, and that Missouri would receive $37 million annually in taxes.

The report also addresses alleged illegal slot machines, which dominated discussion for hours at most of the five hearings.

The report presents facts and recaps testimony about the slot machines, and does not make a formal recommendation. Chairman Shaul told Missourinet after the final hearing in November that the issue is a concern, adding that people want to play these machines.

“So what do we do going forward, how do we thread the needle of good legislation that, one, protects Missouri businesses, protects Missouri consumers and allows people to do what they want at the same time,” Shaul said in November.

The report describes the alleged illegal slot machines as “grey machines”, noting Missouri likely has more than 14,000 of them.

Alleged illegal slots can be found in locations like bars, restaurants, gas stations and convenience stores. There is one pending criminal case in western Missouri’s Platte County, in the Kansas City area. The report says any judicial resolution “is unlikely prior to late 2021.”

Shaul has predicted at several hearings that the Platte County case will likely end up at the Missouri Supreme Court.

While there is no formal recommendation, the committee’s final report says “it may be desirable to act to regulate such machines immediately to resolve uncertainty and prevent further loss of revenue that could be used for educational purposes.” The report also says the problem of illegal gambling is not likely to resolve itself.

The report says the Missouri Lottery and the Missouri Gaming Commission have offered to provide assistance with regulation, enforcement and drafting of legislation to address the issue.

The report will go to House Speaker Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, and the full House. Missouri lawmakers return to Jefferson City for the 2020 session on January 8.

Missouri Senate President Pro Tem to file slot machine legislation for 2020

November 14, 2019 By Brian Hauswirth

The Missouri Senate leader will file legislation in December in Jefferson City to increase penalties for alleged illegal slot machines, setting the slot machine issue up as a major one for the 2020 legislative session.

Missouri Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz (R-Sullivan) visits the House chamber on May 17, 2019 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz, R-Sullivan, told Missourinet on Wednesday that his legislation will enhance the penalties for the alleged illegal slot machines, which are also known as video lottery terminals (VLTs).

They can be found in bars, restaurants, gas stations and convenience stores.

Missouri’s first criminal case involving the alleged illegal slots will go to trial in December in western Missouri’s Platte County.

Pro Tem Schatz says the Missouri Gaming Commission has received multiple reports of sites that have these machines. The Missouri State Highway Patrol testified in October that the number of complaints it’s received about illegal gambling has increased from 39 in 2018 to at least 145 this year.

Most of those complaints are about alleged illegal slots.

A Missouri House gaming committee has held five hearings since August, and the slot machine issue has dominated discussion at three of them. House Special Interim Committee on Gaming Chairman Dan Shaul, R-Imperial, predicts the slot machine issue will end up at the Missouri Supreme Court. He told the audience during an October hearing that whichever side loses the Platte County case will appeal.

Schatz’s proposal will likely face some opposition. During a committee hearing last week in Jefferson City, representatives from convenience stories and restaurants testified they support legislation to allow the machines in their establishments.

The company that operates 74 Break Time convenience stores in Missouri says video lottery terminals have saved convenience stores in other states.

MFA Oil Company vice president James Greer of Columbia tells state lawmakers that Break Time would probably use the terminals in 25 of their 74 stores, if Missouri lawmakers approve legislation to do so.

“We are open to a separate room. We are open to a cordoned-off area, we will live with whatever rule comes out of that,” Greer testifies.

The co-owner of six St. Louis-area restaurants also wants Missouri lawmakers to allow the VLTs in establishments like his, saying it will help restaurants attract new customers and keep up with minimum wage increases. Webster Groves resident Chris Marshall, who co-owns Llywelyn’s Pub, testified last week before the House gaming committee, saying the machines can also help managers invest money in restaurant renovations.

“In documents I have seen, the average restaurant in Illinois that has five video game machines can average additional revenue of approximately $5,000 per month,” Marshall testifies.

He tells lawmakers he’s had to close a restaurant and diversify. Llywelyn’s Pub has six St. Louis locations: Soulard, Webster Groves, St. Peters, St. Charles, O’Fallon and Wildwood.

But opponents say the machines are illegal and are hurting public education.

The Missouri Gaming Association, which represents the state’s 13 casinos, opposes legalizing the VLTs, saying they are illegal and bypass Missouri voters.

And the Missouri Lottery has testified that alleged illegal slot machines are hurting public education in the Show-Me State. Lottery executive director May Scheve Reardon testified in September, telling lawmakers there’s a major issue with the alleged illegal slots along the I-44 corridor, from St. James to Lebanon.

Shaul: will alleged illegal slots become Missouri’s next feral hog issue?

October 22, 2019 By Brian Hauswirth

A Missouri House committee will hold its fourth hearing about alleged illegal slot machines on Thursday at the Statehouse in Jefferson City.

Missouri House Special Interim Committee on Gaming Chairman Dan Shaul, R-Imperial, speaks at a hearing on August 22, 2019 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

House Special Interim Committee on Gaming Chairman Dan Shaul, R-Imperial, tells Missourinet he believes this issue will end up at the Missouri Supreme Court, because of powerful interests on both sides.

“There’s going to be people that make a lot of money one way or the other, and it’s a lot of protection and the cost of going to the (Missouri) Supreme Court would be certainly less than what they would perceive would be won or lost through this process,” Shaul says.

He also believes the issue will be litigated in court for three or four years.

Alleged illegal slot machines can be found in bars, restaurants, gas stations and convenience stores. The number of complaints the Missouri State Highway Patrol has received about illegal gambling has almost quadrupled, from 39 in 2018 to 145 this year.

Chairman Shaul compares the growing problem of alleged illegal slots to a different issue the Missouri Department of Conservation has dealt with.

“Feral hogs weren’t a problem (in Missouri) ten years ago, we just had a little problem. Well, is this going to become the next feral hog issue in the state,” says Shaul.

The Highway Patrol has testified it only has two full-time investigators to handle illegal gambling complaints and that it’s had to pull investigators from other areas to assist.

The House Special Interim Committee on Gaming plans its fourth hearing Thursday at noon about slot machines, which are officially called “video lottery terminals.” The committee will also hear testimony about sports betting and fantasy sports.

The Missouri Prosecutors Association says the first criminal case in the state involving alleged illegal slots will go to trial in December in western Missouri’s Platte County.

The Missouri Gaming Commission has testified that any illegal gaming machines used in Missouri negatively impact casinos and the state Lottery, reducing taxes and funding for education and veterans.