Missouri’s next gambling fight is already underway

By Jason Hancock | Editor-in-Chief

Good morning,

The fight over slot-machine-style games in Missouri gas stations has always been about more than the machines.

It is about who gets access to a gambling market potentially worth billions. It is about whether lawmakers should expand gambling without another statewide vote. And, increasingly, it is about the campaign money flowing to the people who will decide what happens next.

The Senate has blocked video lottery for years. But term limits are reshaping the chamber, gambling interests are writing big checks and three Republican primaries could determine whether next year looks different.

Rudi Keller digs into the money behind the push — and the races that could decide whether Missouri’s long-running video lottery fight is finally nearing a turning point.

by Rudi Keller

Gambling interests donated $1 of every $8 raised by lawmakers for this year’s campaigns, as video lottery backers seek access to a market with up to $10 billion in cash transactions annually.

by Rudi Keller

After years of Senate resistance, video lottery backers believe next year could bring a friendlier chamber. But three August primaries could determine how clear that path really is.

by Bridgette Dunlap

Republicans, in Missouri and at the federal level, have somehow made “small government, less regulation, less red tape” their brand. The truth is they are all about red tape.

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