It takes some impressive gall for an obviously illegal industry to operate in plain sight at thousands of venues, sue the police to prevent them from investigating, then vow to appeal when that ludicrous strategy is predictably slapped down by a judge.

But it's the kind of gall that Missouri's illegal electronic gaming industry has learned can pay off. After all, the state's political leaders are firmly in their pocket and stubbornly refusing to make them adhere to Missouri's gambling laws.

In fact, so servile are the politicians who accept the industry's campaign donations and look the other way that the industry has decided it doesn't have to confine its machines to the gas stations, bars and restaurants anymore.

Coming soon to a strip mall near you: a full-fledged gaming parlor, full of unlicensed, unregulated slot machines that may or may not fairly pay out your winnings to you — but that definitely won't be paying anything to Missouri's schools.

As the Missouri Independent reports, such parlors are popping up around the state, representing the spread of the unregulated machines out of their previous locations within other businesses.

Missouri's licensed casinos are closely regulated to ensure fairness of the games and heavily taxed to fund schools and other needs. The standalone slot machines get around all of that by claiming they aren't actually games of chance.

It's a convoluted argument having to do with the way the games work, but the upshot is this: People put money in the machines for the chance to win more money. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't.

That is, by definition, gambling. And it's pulling business away from licensed gaming, with none of the oversight regarding gambling addiction, underage gambling and other issues that state regulation addresses at the licensed casinos.

The Missouri Gaming Association, which represents the licensed casino industry, estimates there are about 14,000 of the unlicensed machines operating throughout the state.

The organization has called for a crackdown but, like other critics, has gotten nowhere. The Legislature has repeatedly failed to pass legislation clarifying state gaming restrictions to specify that the unregulated machines are illegal.

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, whose job is to enforce state law in court, refuses to take action — and even recused his office from a state court fight with the industry, contracting with private lawyers to handle it instead.

How did this illegal enterprise become so politically untouchable in Missouri? It likely has something to do with allies like former Missouri House Speaker Steve Tilley, now a powerhouse Jefferson City lobbyist. Tilley, who represents owners of the unlicensed machines, has made major political contributions to Bailey and others even as his clients have expanded their rogue industry unencumbered by any kind of pushback from lawmakers. Two of those companies nonetheless filed their audacious lawsuit in 2021 alleging they were being harassed by state police and seeking a court ruling that would declare the games legal. A Cole County judge this month threw out the suit.

That leaves the issue in legal limbo for now — which means the illegal machines will continue operating with impunity unless and until Bailey, the Legislature and the rest of Missouri's bought-and-paid-for leadership puts the interests of the taxpayers ahead of those of this shady but well-heeled industry. Don't bet on it.

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