In a unanimous ruling, the Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, upheld a Cole County circuit court judge’s October 2023 dismissal of Torch Electronics’ lawsuit that sought to prevent the Missouri State Highway Patrol (MHP) from seizing its gambling machines and filing criminal charges.
Writing for the 3-judge appeals panel, Judge Edward Ardini wrote, “It is evident from plaintiffs’ amended petition that their objective in bringing this lawsuit is to enjoin law enforcement from determining the devices are criminal and seizing them. We are not persuaded by plaintiffs’ attempts to characterize their claim as one seeking declaratory judgment interpreting a civil statute.”
The appeals court panel also upheld Cole County Circuit Judge Daniel Green’s dismissal of claims by the Missouri Gaming Association (MGA), which intervened in the case. The MGA argued Torch operations caused “a loss of business for association members licensed, regulated casinos and undermines the public policy of legal, regulated, licensed gaming.” But Ardini wrote that just as the civil courts cannot declare an activity is protected from prosecution, the courts cannot declare that a specific activity is criminal.
Torch Attorney Chuck Hatfield said the company could appeal to the Missouri Supreme Court. “We are reviewing the decision to determine our next steps,” he said. MGA Attorney Marc Ellinger said his client also is reviewing the appeals court’s decision.
Torch, Missouri’s largest vendor of cash-prize games, filed the lawsuit in early 2021 against the Missouri Highway Patrol, the Department of Public Safety and the Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Control.
Company officials claimed the MHP targeted its games, which have proliferated across Missouri since 2018, in a campaign of “harassment and intimidation.” Torch officials said the machines are not illegal games of chance, since a player can select “pre-reveal” to find out the game’s outcome before making a bet. Opponents said the games are illegal because of the unknown results of future plays.
When Torch filed the lawsuit, it faced felony prosecution in Linn County for promoting gambling; that case has since been dismissed. Currently Torch is not a defendant in any criminal case.
A 2021 review by the Independent indicated the MHP had sent prosecutors 190 cases in 2019 and 2020 requesting charges for illegal gambling, but only a few of those cases actually were filed. Torch has cited the article in numerous court filings to show prosecutors consider its games to be legal.
Torch recently sued the city of Springfield over a new ordinance outlawing games that offer cash prizes, claiming the law should not apply to its games. As of late April, Springfield had issued 36 citations to businesses that offer the allegedly illegal machines, according to the Springfield News-Leader.
Intense lobbying by politically connected Torch plus lack of agreement over expanded gambling have blocked Missouri lawmakers’ efforts to rewrite state gambling laws.
