The public was invited to watch five video gaming machines destroyed in Platte City, Missouri on October 7. The machines are the only ones to have been declared illegal gambling devices in the only successful felony prosecution of a game vendor in Missouri.
The Parkville police department seized the games in October 2018 at two convenience stores. They previously were owned by Integrity Vending LLC. In September the company was convicted of promoting, paid a $7,500 fine and pulled its remaining games from other locations in the state. A 1951 Missouri law declared any device that is used for illegal gambling is forfeited to the state and “has no legitimate use shall be ordered publicly destroyed.”
A statement from the Missouri Gaming Association thanked prosecutors for their assistance in getting rid of the illegal machines.
“Yesterday, at least 14,000 more of these illegal devices, which are essentially unregulated slot machines, still operate throughout Missouri. In fact, our state has one of the most rampant spreading of illegal gambling devices in the United States. These gambling devices bypass our state’s strict gaming laws and divert tax revenue away from Missouri’s students and veterans.
“Until Missouri can pass legislation to address illegal slot machines, law enforcement is left to deal with the issue on their own. It is up to our legislators to take this burden from law enforcement and finally solve this issue. We encourage Missourians who are concerned about thousands of new slot machines in their communities and on every street corner in Missouri to ask their legislators to crack down on illegal slot machines and vote no on future legislation to legalize them in the next legislative session.”
Circuit Judge W. Ann Hansbrough ordered the forfeiture on August 17 and directed machines to be destroyed at the Platte County Public Works Department in Platte City. Platte County Prosecuting Attorney Eric Zahnd did not elaborate on how the machines would be destroyed.
About two dozen criminal cases currently are pending in Missouri against so-called “gray area” gambling machines. So far Integrity Vending is the only vendor to be convicted of a felony crime. A few other convictions have been for misdemeanors, such as possession of a gambling device. Local law enforcement and the Missouri State Highway Patrol have conducted hundreds of investigations but many prosecutors are reluctant to file charges and some do not consider the games to be illegal.
In Linn County, however, the prosecutor has filed three felony cases based on investigations by the Brookfield Police Department. Defendants awaiting trial there include Capital Vending and Torch Electronics, which has spent heavily on lobbyists and campaign contributions in attempts to defeat legislation that would result in prosecution.
The games have proliferated in convenience stores and other locations throughout the state in recent years. Vendors claim they are legal since players can see if they’ll win or lose on the next bet.
