Just when it seemed the purveyors of unregulated gaming machines operating openly throughout Missouri couldn’t get any more brazen, one of them funnels six figures in political donations into Jefferson City even as he faces gambling-related prosecution. It’s just the latest indication that this industry – which is effectively siphoning off tax income from the state in a scheme that at least one Missouri court has found to be illegal – thinks it’s untouchable in the Legislature. And legislators, flush with cash from this shady crowd, keep confirming that belief.

Missouri has long allowed state-sanctioned gambling at licensed casinos and via the state lottery, regulating the games to ensure their fairness and taxing them to bolster state education funding.