YOUR BUSINESS AUTHORITY
Springfield, MO
YOUR BUSINESS AUTHORITY
Springfield, MO
Springfield City Council unanimously passed a bill banning gaming devices that offer monetary prizes in February 2024. Enforcement has been steady since the ban was enacted, according to Cris Swaters, public affairs officer for the Springfield Police Department.
Enforcement data compiled by Swaters shows that SPD officers have been unabated in issuing citations to businesses, even through active court cases.
The bill was passed Feb. 12, 2024, and SPD officers issued citations in each ensuing month.
Data provided by SPD on Oct. 23 shows 29 citations in October alone, 18 of those on Oct. 2 to Wicked Superstore on 425 E. Kearney St., with another eight to White Oak Station at 650 W. Kearney St. and three to Puff the Magic Dragon at 1336 W. Sunshine St., both on Oct. 21.
In all, SPD issued 172 citations in 2024 and 203 so far this year.
The ban calls for steep remedies from companies operating the machines. 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.
Swaters said 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.
SPD declined a request for an interview on enforcement, with Swaters saying that was not possible due to pending litigation.
On Oct. 7, a jury in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri ruled on claims by Wildwood-based Torch Electronics LLC, which manufactures the machines in question. Torch had maintained that the games, which the company refers to as “no chance” machines, were not a form of gambling because they remove the element of chance by revealing the outcome of the upcoming spin. Attorneys for plaintiff TNT Amusements Inc. argued that this was false advertising. The jury passed down a $500,000 penalty to Torch, which announced plans to appeal the verdict, according to past reporting.
On Sept. 25, Greene County Circuit Court ruled against Torch Electronics after it sued the city of Springfield to stop enforcement of its ban. Judge S. Cotton Walker found the city’s decision not to renew Torch’s business license to be lawful and constitutional and based on competent and substantial evidence. The judge also ruled that the city ordinance is not preempted by state law and therefore the city is permitted to enforce it. Torch quickly filed an appeal.
Another lawsuit against the city, filed in August 2024 in Greene County Circuit Court, seeks the return of multiple gaming machines seized by the city.
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