Missouri state Senator Denny Hoskins, chairman of the Senate Economic Development Committee, announced he will file legislation in December to tax and regulate video lottery terminals. The machines, which occupy a legal gray zone, are proliferating in truck stops, convenience stores and bars across the state.
Hoskins said his measure “makes sure that if it says you’re going to win one out of every 50 times that, in fact, that slot machine is being checked to make sure that you as the customer are actually going to win one out of every 50 times.” He predicted the legislation could lead to $250 million annually for K-12 education and veterans homes.
Hoskins noted, “Currently in the state of Illinois, there’s about 8,000 locations that have video lottery terminals. And they have about 40,000 machines in the state of Illinois. That has brought in about $1.6 billion.” About 20,000 video lottery terminals operate in Missouri; they’re not regulated or taxed, Hoskins noted.
Hoskins said he’s closely watching a case where a Platte County judge ruled two “no chance” video lottery terminals located in a convenience store in Parkville violate state gambling laws. The case could end up at the Missouri Supreme Court. Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz also is closely following the Platte County case. He opposes Hoskins’ measure and said the alleged illegal Missouri slot machines are “a tax on most poor people.”
Missouri Lottery Executive Director May Scheve Reardon recently testified the video lottery machines are taking money from public education in Missouri. She noted most of the machines are located in businesses along the I-44 corridor, from St. James to Lebanon.
Hoskins’ proposed legislation also includes sports wagering, esports and horseracing. He noted the growing popularity of esports. “When you talk about esports, we’re talking about players, playing whether it’s Madden football, whether it’s Halo, whether it’s Fortnite. And there are tournaments all over the United States as well as all over the world with this going on. Some states have even built esports stadiums in order to host many of these game tournaments. And so, I could see that being a huge industry coming into the state of Missouri,” Hoskins said.
He also stated he would “love” to see horseracing in Missouri. He pointed out 60 percent of Missouri voters approved parimutuel horse wagering in 1984. “Several other states do have horseracing in their state. And what they’ve done is they’ve combined horseracing with video lottery terminals, with sportsbooks and things like that,” Hoskins said. One example is Fairmount Park in Collinsville, Illinois, across the Mississippi River from downtown St. Louis.
Hoskins said he also plans to pre-file sports betting legislation in December. He noted more than 30 other states offer a version of sports wagering, which could generate $20 million annually for Missouri.
