Attorneys in Missouri this week filed a class-action lawsuit accusing a manufacturer of gray-market gambling machines of corruption and racketeering. The suit, filed on behalf of seven state residents who claim to have been harmed “through their use of one or more of the thousands of illegal slot machines,” also goes after the owners of the convenience stores that house the machines.

The case no doubt will be watched closely by casino operators, who have complained for years that the gray-market machines are illegal and aren’t subject to the same rules as casino slots in terms of hold rates, regulatory compliance, and other state supervision. The machines, often called video lottery terminals (VLTs), have proliferated in recent years in the Show Me State and elsewhere.