Missouri attorney general orders illegal gaming machines removed statewide amid crackdown

Suswati Basu

 

Missouri’s top law enforcement official is telling businesses across the state to get rid of slot-style gaming machines immediately, saying they are illegal under current law.

Attorney General Catherine L. Hanaway delivered that message Thursday (February 19) in a video posted to X and during testimony before lawmakers. Her warning follows a recent federal court decision concluding that similar devices violate Missouri’s gambling statutes. In a February 13 ruling, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri determined that so-called “video lottery terminals” placed in bars, gas stations and convenience stores fit the state’s definition of illegal gambling devices or machines when they operate outside licensed casinos.

“My goal is to enforce the law. Whatever you all say the law is,” Hanaway said in a video, “Right now the law says these machines are illegal.” She tied the issue to public safety, arguing that unregulated gambling operations can invite more serious crime. “I am very concerned that… it is going to contribute to violent crime,” she said, warning that disputes over territory and profits could escalate if authorities fail to step in.

Hanaway said her office is treating the machines as part of a broader crackdown on vice-related offenses. “Because I think the drugs, the gaming, the selling to kids, all those things combined… we’re going to start getting turf wars and other very dangerous activity if law enforcement continues to sit idly by,” she said.

When asked whether store owners should begin removing the machines now, she did not hedge. “They should start removing them, like, today. Today they’re illegal. Law enforcement’s coming after them.” She added that probable cause statements from Missouri State Highway Patrol troopers describe the machines scattered widely across the state, including one location that allegedly housed 11 devices.

Missouri illegal gambling machines ruling fuels enforcement and Capitol debate

The federal decision stemmed from a lawsuit in which a jury found that a manufacturer’s machines ran afoul of Missouri law because they rely at least in part on chance. In his opinion, Judge John A. Ross wrote that the devices “readily meet” the statutory definition of gambling devices, pointing out that players risk something of value on outcomes they cannot control.

For years, those machines operated in what many described as a gray area. Now, with a federal judge weighing in, state and local officials say they have clearer authority to act. Some county prosecutors have already alerted businesses that criminal charges could follow if the machines are not removed by set deadlines.

Meanwhile, the debate has shifted to the State Capitol. The Missouri House narrowly approved a bill this week that would establish a state-run video lottery system, replacing the gray-market devices with regulated machines. The proposal would set minimum payout standards and steer a share of revenue to education and local governments.

Backers argue regulation would bring transparency and tax dollars. Critics counter that formalizing the system risks rewarding operators who pushed the limits of the law. For now, Hanaway’s position is that businesses that keep the machines in place should expect enforcement.

Featured image: Office of the Missouri Attorney General / Canva

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