Slot machine manufacturers, distributors and lobbyists are watching a lawsuit in Wisconsin appellate court that could lead to the state Supreme Court. Or it could allow unregulated slots to continue to proliferate in convenience stores and gas stations throughout the state.
Slot machines are illegal in Wisconsin, except at tribal casinos. Wisconsin Department of Revenue Chief Counsel Dana Erlandsen said, “We have seen increasing numbers of gambling machines, and my concern is I’m not sure if vendors are not being straightforward about what’s happened in other states. There’s no monitoring to see that these machines pay out fairly.”
However, in courtrooms, distributors of the machines have said they are legal since they show players if whether they’ll win or lose on the next spin. Distributor Jeremy Hahn “Ours have a prize viewer, so if you touch it, it shows you whether you’ll win the bet.”
Hahn’s company has installed 50 machines in the Milwaukee area. However, the state ordered three of them removed from a Milwaukee gas station in January. Hahn challenged the removal, arguing the machines are legal.
In Racine County, a judge agreed that since the machines allow players to see the outcome of a bet before they make it, that removes the element of chance and makes them legal under the law. The state has appealed the case and that’s the one that interested parties are paying attention to. The appellate court is expected to issue a ruling on the case this fall.
Gaming Equipment Manufacturers Executive Director Marcus Prater said, “It’s pure baloney, but it has been tied up in the courts over and over again. These unregulated machines, who knows what the software is doing inside those machines. I guarantee you the players are losing a lot of money because they’re getting fooled into thinking they’re getting a fair chance.”
Citizens Against Expanded Gambling Executive Director Lorri Pickens added, “People are buying hope for a dollar. That’s how they look at the ability to change their financial circumstances.” Pickens said Wisconsin already has lost the battle against unregulated slots. She said the machines snuck into the state because gambling has become normalized. “It just becomes something people don’t oppose or think twice about because it’s everywhere,” she said.
