House panel considers plan to legalize slots in Missouri
State voters recently approved regulated sports betting.
Key Points
- Supporters say slots could generate $343m in state revenue
- Those in opposition claim this could cannibalize revenue from riverboat casinos
Missouri lawmakers have examined plans to legalize slot games statewide, according to a St. Lous Post-Dispatch local report.
Both sides of the issue were recently brought to the House Emerging Issues Committee.
Analysis of the plans found that video gambling machines at gas stations and bars “could generate more than $343m in revenue for the state” if they are legalized.
However, a nonpartisan financial review has posed the question of whether welcoming these games could cause riverboat casinos to lose money, the local report said.
The report examined trends in Illinois, a state which allows machines of this kind. According to the findings, “Illinois saw a 15% decline in state revenue at casinos in the first five years of operation, while the newly legalized slot machines grew by nearly 900%.”
The analysis added, “The act would likely also result in reductions in casino taxes and admission fees paid to local governments in home dock cities.”
The state recently brought the matter of legal sports wagering before voters in last November’s election. Missouri voters pulled the lever in favor of a legal sports betting market by passing Amendment 2.
Under the terms of the amendment, a legal market would need to be in place statewide by December.
However, Missouri Gaming Commission Chair Jan Zimmerman told local news that she “she expects wagers to be placed by summer.”
She went on to add, “There’s some advantages, I guess, to being relatively late to the game.
“The Missouri Gaming Commission is responsible for maintaining the integrity of the process, the integrity of gambling within the state of Missouri, and so we really can’t afford to have anyone that’s inappropriate, or, you know, shouldn’t be involved in the gaming industry.”
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