From the Desk of MO Senator Karla May: Treasurer pulls slot machine ads after legislative grilling

Missouri State Treasurer pulls controversial slot machine ads after legislative grilling

#MissouriPolitics, #GamblingLegislation, #PoliticalNews

Throughout a blistering, two-hour bipartisan interrogation on Feb. 27, the state treasurer remained defiantly committed to his decision to advertise on unlicensed gambling devices deemed illegal slot machines by the Missouri Gaming Commission and State Highway Patrol.  Later that day, however, he suddenly backed down and said he has asked for the ads’ removal.

At issue are decals featuring the state treasurer’s name under a variant of the official state seal that promote the treasurer’s unclaimed property program. The decals have been placed on hundreds of video lottery terminals, which operate like slot machines and have proliferated throughout the state in recent years in gas stations, bars and other locations. The highway patrol has seized and destroyed VLTs in jurisdictions where prosecutors have been willing to file charges, but some prosecutors claim the machines fall into a legal gray area and refuse to pursue cases.

The House General Administration Appropriations Subcommittee summoned the state treasurer to testify about the ads, the existence of which became widely known a week earlier. Committee members repeatedly expressed concerns that the ads are designed to create the impression that machines are licensed and sanctioned by the state.

Support Karla May for U.S. Senate. PAID FOR BY KARLA MAY FOR U.S. SENATE. MICHELLE CLAY, TREASURER

During his testimony, the state treasurer conceded the legality of VLTs is disputed but said that unless the Missouri Supreme Court definitively rules the machines are illegal he would continue allowing the ads. He repeatedly refused to back down after lawmakers of both parties grilled him about the questionable ethics of his position. Hours after the hearing ended, however, he abruptly reversed course.

“I have today revoked permission for Torch Electronics to display Unclaimed Property messages on their devices, and I have asked Torch Electronics to immediately begin the process of removing any reference to the Unclaimed Property Program from Torch’s devices,” the state treasurer said in a letter to the subcommittee’s chairman, as reported by various news outlets.

Torch Electronics is a main VLT supplier in Missouri and client of influential lobbyist Steve Tilley, a former House speaker. During his testimony, the state treasurer said he authorized Torch to use decals bearing his name and seal of office during an August meeting with Tilley and Torch’s president at a Chesterfield airplane hangar Tilley owns. The state treasurer said Torch, not taxpayers, paid for the decals. Committee members countered that while the deal might not have cost the state money, it severely damaged the state’s image and reputation.

The governor appointed the state treasurer in January 2023 to fill a vacancy. The state treasurer, who had never previously held elected office, is seeking election to a full term this year but is running in a crowded primary.

#MissouriPolitics, #GamblingLegislation, #PoliticalNews