Businesses offering illegal video gambling machines to their customers could lose their liquor licenses under legislation introduced in the Missouri House.
With lawmakers set to return to the Capitol in January, Rep. Rasheen Aldridge, D-St. Louis, is sponsoring a plan to crack down on unregulated slot machines that have flooded gas stations, corner markets and convenience stores across the state.
“We need to hold these stores accountable,” Aldridge said Thursday. “We need to have enforcement on them. It is so inappropriate and disgusting.”
Unlike Illinois and other states where video gambling is taxed and regulated by the government, Missouri officials have been unable to stop politically connected companies from transforming gas stations and bars into gaming stops for customers.
