Missouri’s top prosecutor issued a warning Thursday to businesses offering slot machines to their customers: Time is ticking on the games.
"They should start removing them,” Attorney General Catherine Hanaway said. "They should start pulling them out.”
The message came during a Senate hearing where Hanaway outlined her budget needs for the coming year.
Her warning comes as state lawmakers are considering legislation that would ban gambling terminals in gas stations and bars and replace them with a legalized and taxed system run by the Missouri Lottery that could generate over $300 million a year for the state budget.
The Missouri Gaming Association, which represents casinos in the state, has said there are an estimated 14,000 of the devices throughout Missouri, including around 6,000 owned by one operator, Wildwood-based Torch Electronics.
Groups representing businesses that offer the gambling terminals are not yet advising their clients to follow Hanaway’s directive.
Missouri Petroleum Marketers & Convenience Association Executive Director Ron Leone said the organization is focusing on the legislation now before the Senate to create the legalized system, allowing stores to have up to eight state-sanctioned machines in a separate area to keep gambling out of the sight of children.
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