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Belton council briefed on shifting legal landscape for 'gaming' machines as state AG opens enforcement
Summary
City attorneys told the council a recent federal decision applying Missouri precedent, plus the state attorney general's actions, classify many electronic 'gray' gaming machines as illegal gambling devices; staff recommended contacting the county prosecutor and alerting local businesses but taking no new municipal enforcement until the legal picture clears.
City attorneys told the Belton City Council on Monday that recent court rulings and statements from the Missouri attorney general have sharply changed how local governments should treat so-called "gray" gaming machines found in convenience stores and other retail locations.
The council heard that an Eastern District federal judge, applying Missouri precedent dating to a 1913 case from Moberly, concluded devices that preview results and pay out are gambling devices under state law, and that the Missouri attorney general has since declared the devices illegal and opened investigations and prosecutions. "These devices are gambling devices and…
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