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Residents and operators clash at Jackson County hearing over unlicensed gambling devices
Summary
At a Nov. 3 Jackson County Legislature hearing, neighborhood advocates described spikes in crime tied to unlicensed 'pre‑reveal' gambling machines and urged the county to follow Kansas City's ordinance; business operators and an industry CFO said licensing and stronger enforcement would be preferable to a blanket ban.
A public hearing at the Jackson County Legislature on Nov. 3 drew neighborhood advocates, convenience-store owners and machine operators to debate how the county should respond to unlicensed gambling machines in retail locations.
Laura Birdsong, who identified herself as representing the Independence Avenue Community Improvement District, told the legislature her group's mobile security team logged “2,012 calls” covering 131 businesses and said the gambling‑machine locations accounted for a disproportionate share of problematic activity. “Before, you see how people just would collect and those people are openly using,” she said, adding that closing one large problem site…
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