Games still active, SPD still enforcing in Springfield stores

Video lottery terminals are still a familiar sight in many Springfield convenience stores.

That’s notable after a Feb. 13 ruling by U.S. District Judge John Ross that declared the machines meet the statutory definition of gambling devices under Missouri law and are therefore illegal when played outside of a licensed casino.

The partial declaratory judgment in the civil suit of TNT Amusements Inc. v. Torch Electronics LLC, the manufacturer of the machines in question, found that what the manufacturer describes as “no chance” or skill games are in fact gambling machines, because players risk something of value on the outcome of a contest of chance. The games’ use of a preview feature that allows players to see outcomes in advance was found to be immaterial to their status as gambling devices.

At Wicked Superstore at 425 E. Kearney St., manager Reuben Boone was asked in a phone call March 4 if the judge’s decision would have any impact on Wicked’s business plan or if the machines would remain in place.

“I have no idea,” Boone said. “I haven’t heard anything.”

But according to Boone, the machines remain popular among customers.

“We just got new machines in two weeks ago,” he said, noting those were replacement machines.

Boone said he was reluctant to say much more about the machines, because he is aware that there is some kind of debate going on with them.

“There’s a lot of legal jargon with how they have the games here,” he said.

The legal status of these games, variously dubbed gray-market slot machines, video lottery terminals and the like, remains in debate in Springfield and across Missouri.

In February 2024, Springfield City Council unanimously passed a bill banning the devices. Penalties set by council were steep.

Under the ordinance, violating businesses are fined $500 per machine for a first offense and $1,000 per machine for a second offense. A third offense calls for a fine of $1,000 per machine, plus a minimum jail sentence of 30 days, and the court is restricted by the ordinance from suspending this minimum sentence, according to 2024 Springfield Business Journal coverage of the council action.

Rapid Robert’s Inc. Chief Operating Officer Todd Wilson responded March 5 to an email query about the company’s current business plan where the terminals are concerned following the federal judge’s ruling. Four of the company’s stores were in the first wave of businesses to be cited after council took action to ban them.

“There is not much to report on pertaining to (Rapid Robert’s),” Wilson said. “The case you are referencing was a civil lawsuit between two competitors in the amusement device industry, and we are not a party to that case.”

In October 2025, a Springfield Police Department spokesperson said in an interview that in order to charge a business with a second or third offense, there must be a prior conviction, and none of the pending prosecutions on citations have yet reached the point of final convictions; therefore, no one has been eligible to be charged as a prior offender. That remains true.

On Feb. 19, city spokesperson Cora Scott said via email that SPD and the city prosecutor’s office will continue with enforcement, as required by city ordinance.

SPD issued 172 citations in 2024 and more than 200 in 2025, according to past reporting. The city prosecutor’s office told SBJ on March 4 that prosecutors are not able to comment on cases in progress.

The machines’ continued operation may be due to a waiting game as a bill to legalize their operation wends its way through the Missouri legislature.

Legislation creating a state-run video lottery system to replace the games now in use passed the Missouri House of Representatives Feb. 18 by a one-vote margin, according to reporting by the Missouri Independent.

Under the legislation, the Missouri Lottery would have the authority to license games for installation in retail locations in the state, and the games would be required to pay out at least 80% of the money wagered. About a third of the profits would be dedicated to state education programs, the Independent reported. Additionally, there would be a 3% tax on profits from the games to aid local governments.

The Senate had its second reading of the bill on Feb. 26 and referred the legislation to the Select Committee on Gaming, according to the legislative record.