The Missouri House is considering a bill that would regulate and tax video gambling machines, after multiple failed attempts to pass legislation on the issue in recent years.
The machines, called video lottery terminals, are often found in bars and convenience stores.
The proposed legislation, House Bill 970, would place the machines under the management of the Missouri Lottery Commission.
Currently, the only VLTs operating in Missouri are what are known as “no chance” machines because they don’t have truly random results.
Gambling is illegal in Missouri outside of specific exceptions such as regulated casinos. But since gambling is defined as games of chance, machines that do not have random results have been argued to not violate the law.
The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Bill Hardwick, R-Dixon, and other proponents argued that passing the measure would remove uncertainty and provide regulatory clarity.
“I think that what we owe all the businesses in the state of Missouri is, is regulatory certainty as to exactly what is authorized by the law, what exactly is not authorized by the law,” Hardwick said. “And then as the state establishes that regulatory framework, we also make sure that that revenue goes to the purposes we want it to go to.”
The Missouri Constitution mandates that proceeds from the state lottery fund have to go to education.
At a hearing on the bill Monday, opponents of VLTs argued against the expansion of gambling in Missouri. Last November, Amendment 2, which legalized sports betting, passed by only a slim margin, while Amendment 5, which would have authorized the construction of a new casino on the Osage River, failed to pass.
“Sports betting barely passed,” said Rep. Emily Weber, D-Kansas City. “Gambling in Missouri is not an overall thing that Missourians love.”
If the bill passes, there would be a transition period when the current machines could be phased out and replaced with new regulated ones.
Some representatives expressed concern about language in the bill that would stop municipalities from imposing their own bans or regulations on VLTs for the first year.
“St. Louis just can’t say, ‘We don’t want this,’” said Rep. Elizabeth Fuchs, D-St. Louis. “Or Springfield can’t say, ‘We don’t want this,’ at the start.”
In recent years, attempts to regulate VLTs have often gone hand in hand with attempts to legalize sports betting.
VLTs were backed by former Sen. Denny Hoskins, who was inaugurated as secretary of state earlier this month. In 2023, Hoskins filibustered in the Senate in protest of a bill that would have legalized sports betting, but not VLTs.
The River City Journalism Fund supports St. Louis Public Radio's Statehouse internship. Evy Lewis is the 2025 reporting intern. See rcjf.org for more information about the fund, which seeks to advance journalism in St. Louis.
