Missouri State Senator Denny Hoskins is in favor of sports betting in the Show Me State but only if the same bill includes the legalization of video lottery terminals. So far, that hasn’t happened and sports betting is likely to be shelved for another session because of it.
If No VLT’s Then It’s Not for Me
Senator Denny Hoskins is the equivalent of the kid who brings the ball to the game but won’t play unless his rules are followed. That pretty much sums up the status of sports betting in Missouri, in which one legislator can derail an entire industry because his pet project hasn’t been approved.
Rep. Dan Houx has a nearly identical sports betting bill in the House that excludes VLT legalization as the one in the Senate, SB 30. Hoskins led an eight-hour filibuster with several amendments to SB 30 that effectively derailed any chances of its passing.
“[Hoskins] and Houx will probably keep talking for the next [few] weeks and it’ll either break lose with 48 hours left in the session or it won’t,” said one source.
“Hoskins is apparently sticking to his guns on VLT despite getting handed the L on the floor amendment a few weeks back,” a source said. “Still time, but people are getting increasingly pessimistic.”
What Are VLTs?
Denny Hoskins is passionate about legalizing the gray-market video lottery terminals (VLTs) that dot Missouri’s truck stops, barrooms, and gas stations. Enforcement has been scattered but they are so common that many believe them to be perfectly legal. However, they are not necessarily illegal either, it all depends on your definition.
Missouri state law prohibits gambling machines outside of a licensed casino. The law specifically addresses slot machines by issuing the following, “A person commits the offense of possession of a gambling device if, with knowledge of the character thereof, he or she manufactures, sells, transports, places or possesses, or conducts or negotiates any transaction affecting or designed to affect ownership, custody or use of a slot machine.”
In 2019, the Missouri Highway Patrol created an Illegal Gaming Investigations Unit and in the first year, the unit received 241 complaints of illegal gambling which resulted in 175 criminal investigations being pursued. Nevertheless, proponents of these machines assert they are not governed by the law prohibiting slot machines because the terminals reveal ahead of time whether or not their next spin will be a winner or a loser.
And the only reason anyone would pay money to lose is because the next pull could be a winner. In other words, you have to lose to get a chance at winning with these machines as opposed to traditional slot machines where the customer won’t know the outcome until after they spin.
VLTs Proliferation in Missouri
This advanced knowledge that the VLTs provide is the perceived legal loophole that has caused the proliferation of VLTs in Missouri. Thus, the term “gray market” to describe the machines and why Missouri’s 13 regulated casinos are vehemently opposed to them, as they believe they are cannibalizing the industry. Why go to a casino when you can get essentially the same slot machine experience just minutes away?
Hoskins believes these machines should be licensed, thereby allowing the revenues to be taxed, while opponents want them outlawed altogether in defense of the casinos that pay millions of dollars in gaming revenue to the state.
*Bookmakers Review will continue to monitor this story and update our readers as events unfold.
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