EDITOR: Timothy Faber serves as Missouri Baptist Convention legislative consultant.
The old saying “if you can’t beat them, join them” seems to be the preferred choice for some of our state legislators.
There are many good men and women serving in our state legislature, to be sure, but there are some who like to pretend they are fixing a problem when in reality they are spilling a lot of ink and leaving a bigger stain on our state. They dangle a promise of new revenue while trying to hide the means by which they propose to generate that revenue.
Such is the case with HB970. This bill claims to establish provisions relating to video lottery gaming terminals, licenses, and regulation.
That almost sounds good. That sounds like they want to finally deal with these lottery machines that have been popping up in convenience stores all over the state. Sometimes these machines are referred to as “gray machines” since they are perceived by some as being in a gray area of the law – which they really aren’t. As the Missouri Gaming Commission has stated, “It has always been the position of the gaming commission that these machines are not legal.” Yet county prosecutors across the state have refused to prosecute for fear of alienating voters.
Representative Bill Hardwick (R-Dixon/Pulaski County) has introduced House Bill 970, which starts out by creating an “Illegal Gaming Enforcement Fund.” That sounds great, doesn’t it? A fund whose revenue comes from the enforcement of illegal gaming; and those funds would be earmarked for Veterans and for education…. Everybody wants to support our veterans and education, right? But not everybody reads the rest of the bill.
As we work our way through 20+ pages of this bill we see that indeed these “gray machines” will be illegal and removed by the end of 2026…..and be replaced with plain old outright slot machines that one would find in a casino.
This is blatantly illegal as well, since casinos are only legal in Missouri “on the waters of” the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers; land based casinos are not legal in Missouri. But HB970 allows up to 12 machines to be licensed to any establishment. How many slot machines does it take to qualify as a casino? 50? 25? 15? 10? I would say 12 slot machines at any establishment is definitely a land-based casino!
Further evidence of the deception in this bill can be found on page 18, where it tries to circumvent existing law (as opposed to honestly changing it), by stating, “The owning, operating, supplying, or servicing of video lottery game terminals ….does not constitute advancing gambling activity.”
This is a clear violation of Missouri Revised statute 572.010: “A person advances gambling activity if, acting other than as a player, he or she engages in conduct that materially aids any form of gambling activity. Conduct of this nature includes but is not limited to conduct directed toward the creation or establishment of the particular game, lottery, contest, scheme, device or activity involved, toward the acquisition or maintenance of premises, paraphernalia, equipment or apparatus therefor, toward the solicitation or inducement of persons to participate therein, toward the actual conduct of the playing phases thereof, toward the arrangement or communication of any of its financial or recording phases, or toward any other phase of its operation. A person advances gambling activity if, having substantial proprietary control or other authoritative control over premises being used with his or her knowledge for purposes of gambling activity, he or she permits that activity to occur or continue or makes no effort to prevent its occurrence or continuation….”
Rather than repealing or changing this statute, HB970 simply claims it doesn’t apply here! Must be nice to simply make an exemption to do what you want to do!
HB970 further claims (also on page 18) that “Gambling does not include any licensed activity or persons participating in such licensed activity, licensed video lottery game terminals, or video lottery games….” In other words, as long as we license it, it doesn’t count.
Behind all of this is the fact that the voters of Missouri have never approved slot machines. To the contrary, casinos have only been approved along our two main rivers, never on land. We have approved 13 casinos, and on more than one occasion have rebuffed efforts to add more casinos or expand where they can be placed.
Missourians do not want land-based mini-casinos in every community. And if such are ever approved, it should be done by honestly, openly, and clearly declaring that this is the intent, instead of hiding it in a 20 page bill that purports to restrict the gray machines and generate revenues for veterans and schools.
Contact Rep Bill Hardwick’s Office at 573-751-3834 or bill.hardwick@house.mo.gov and clearly but politely request that he withdraw this legislation. And contact your own state representative and inform them that if this bill makes it to the floor that you expect them to vote “No” on it.
A similar situation is brewing with HB393 that would expand the sale of cannabis products beyond the voter approved dispensaries. Such sales are already occurring, and as such are illegal. But rather than enforcing the law against such behavior, HB393 would simply legalize the behavior. HB393 is sponsored by Rep Dave Hinman (R-St. Charles County). If you can’t beat them join them. That may be the way some legislators operate, but I believe we deserve better.