JEFFERSON CITY, MO – September 24, 2026 (STL.News) Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway is warning businesses and gaming-machine operators that criminal prosecution — and potentially jail — could follow reports that illegal gambling machines are being switched back on across the state after a months-long enforcement campaign forced thousands of devices offline.
Hanaway said her office has received new reports that some machines removed or disabled earlier this year are returning to operation. The attorney general said authorities do not yet know precisely how many devices remain active statewide but indicated prosecutors intend to pursue operators and businesses that continue offering illegal gambling.
“People will probably start going to jail,” Hanaway said while discussing the renewed activity.
The warning represents an escalation in a Missouri gambling dispute that has moved rapidly during 2026. What had long been debated as a legal gray area has increasingly become the subject of court rulings, criminal investigations, search warrants, seizures and prosecutions.
For Missouri retailers, particularly convenience stores, gas stations, and other establishments that have hosted the devices, the consequences can extend beyond losing a machine or its proceeds. Depending on the conduct involved, Missouri gambling law provides for misdemeanor and felony criminal charges.
The distinction between different types of machines remains important, however. Not every electronic amusement or gaming machine in Missouri is necessarily illegal. The design of the device, how it operates, and how it is used matter under Missouri law.
But for the specific Torch Electronics devices considered in federal court this year, the legal picture became substantially clearer.
Federal court ruled Torch devices were gambling devices
On Feb. 13, U.S. District Judge John A. Ross of the Eastern District of Missouri ruled that devices marketed and distributed by Torch Electronics met Missouri’s statutory definition of a “gambling device.”
Ross concluded that the Torch devices were illegal under Missouri law when operated outside a licensed casino.
The decision followed extensive litigation over Torch’s so-called “no-chance” games.
Torch had maintained that its machines differed from conventional slot machines, including through a prize-viewer feature that allowed players to see information about an upcoming prize.
The federal court concluded that the devices nevertheless contained multiple elements of chance.
Ross wrote that the evidence established that Torch devices were usable in gambling activity and therefore met Missouri’s definition of a gambling device.
The ruling followed a five-day jury trial in 2025 in litigation brought by TNT Amusements Inc., a competitor that operates traditional amusement equipment. The jury found in TNT’s favor on false-advertising and unfair-competition claims after considering representations concerning whether chance played a role in Torch’s games.
Torch subsequently sought permission for an interlocutory appeal of the declaratory ruling. Ross denied that request on March 17.
The ruling is particularly important to the current enforcement campaign, but its scope should not be overstated. It concerned the Torch devices before the court and does not establish that every electronic amusement, skill or gaming device found in a Missouri business is automatically illegal.
Torch agreed to suspend operations in April
Less than two months after the federal court decision, Missouri authorities announced another major development.
On April 8, Hanaway announced that Torch Electronics had agreed to suspend operations involving illegal gambling devices effective April 10.
According to the Missouri Attorney General’s Office, the action followed a joint criminal investigation involving the Attorney General’s Office and the U.S. attorneys’ offices for the Eastern and Western districts of Missouri.
Torch notified its customers to stop operating the affected machines.
Hanaway’s office identified Torch as the largest provider of illegal gambling devices in Missouri and said the agreement would not end investigations into other operators, manufacturers, or retailers facilitating illegal gambling.
That development contributed to thousands of devices being shut down or removed across Missouri.
The latest reports are significant because authorities say some machines are now being activated again despite enforcement actions and warnings earlier this year.
St. Louis County issued its own warning
The crackdown also has a direct connection to St. Louis.
Hanaway and St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Melissa Price Smith announced a coordinated enforcement initiative in March to remove illegal gambling machines from businesses throughout St. Louis County.
Businesses were warned that devices meeting the definition of an illegal gambling device under Chapter 572 of Missouri law had to be removed or permanently disabled by June 1.
The warning specifically followed the federal court developments involving unregulated gaming machines.
The St. Louis County initiative was significant because the machines had become common sights in convenience stores, gas stations, bars, and similar businesses throughout Missouri.
Authorities were no longer merely debating whether particular machines were legal. Prosecutors were telling businesses to remove qualifying illegal devices or risk enforcement.
Missouri followed warnings with seizures
Missouri authorities demonstrated during the spring and summer that those warnings were not simply advisory.
In May, the Attorney General’s Office announced a coordinated enforcement operation involving the Missouri State Highway Patrol and local law-enforcement agencies in Boone, Dallas, Jefferson and Miller counties.
Authorities reported seizing 35 gambling devices and $58,815.
The state also announced 21 felony counts of first-degree promoting gambling involving four locations and five misdemeanor counts of second-degree promoting gambling at another location.
Criminal charges are allegations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proved guilty in court.
The enforcement operation also reached the St. Louis region.
At Tenbrook Station Lounge in Arnold, authorities reported seizing seven devices and $2,147, noting that investigators still needed specialized equipment to access a payment kiosk.
The enforcement campaign continued in June.
Authorities executed a search warrant at Sit-N-Spin in Park Hills in St. Francois County. According to the Attorney General’s Office, investigators seized 13 electronic gambling devices, a payout kiosk and $24,593 in cash.
Robert John Orr was charged with 13 felony counts of first-degree promoting gambling. Those charges are allegations, and Orr is entitled to the presumption of innocence unless proved guilty.
More machines and cash seized in August
The enforcement effort continued through the summer.
On Aug. 20, investigators executed a search warrant at Potosi Discount Liquor in Washington County.
The operation involved the Attorney General’s Office, the Missouri State Highway Patrol Division of Drug and Crime Control, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, and the Potosi Police Department.
Authorities reported seizing nine electronic gambling devices and more than $27,000 in cash.
According to the Attorney General’s Office, investigators believed the seized money represented about two weeks of payouts from machines at the business.
By then, Missouri’s approach to unregulated gambling machines had evolved considerably from the uncertainty that surrounded the industry in previous years.
The state had a federal court ruling concerning Torch devices, an agreement suspending Torch’s operations, criminal investigations, seizures, and pending prosecutions.
Missouri law provides for felony charges
Hanaway’s warning about possible jail time is supported by Missouri’s criminal gambling statutes, although whether someone can be incarcerated depends on the specific conduct, charges, and ultimately a conviction.
Missouri Revised Statutes Section 572.070 makes possession of a gambling device a Class A misdemeanor when the statutory requirements are met.
The law covers a person who, with knowledge of the device’s character, manufactures, sells, transports, places or possesses a slot machine. It also applies to other gambling devices when the person knows or has reason to believe the device will be used in Missouri to advance unlawful gambling activity.
More serious conduct can lead to felony prosecution.
Under Section 572.030, a person commits first-degree promoting gambling when the person knowingly advances or profits from unlawful gambling under circumstances defined by the statute.
Those circumstances include setting up and operating a gambling device through which more than $100 is gambled in a single day or setting up and operating a slot machine.
First-degree promoting gambling is a Class E felony.
Under Missouri law, a Class E felony carries an authorized prison term of up to four years.
Those penalties help explain the increasingly forceful language coming from the Attorney General’s Office.
Businesses dealing with machines that qualify as illegal gambling devices are no longer confronting only the possibility that authorities could order the machines removed. Depending on the circumstances, the people operating or facilitating the gambling can potentially become criminal defendants.
Missouri has also used civil enforcement
Criminal cases are only one part of the state’s strategy.
In February, Hanaway’s office filed civil lawsuits against five retail businesses in Dunklin County, alleging that the businesses were providing access to illegal gambling machines.
The Attorney General’s Office said those cases involved video lottery terminals, commonly called VLTs, and fishing-table games.
The state sought civil penalties and permanent injunctions.
Those lawsuits contain allegations by the state and should not be interpreted as findings that each defendant committed the alleged violations unless and until those claims are established through the legal process.
The combination of civil litigation and criminal enforcement illustrates the broad strategy Missouri authorities have adopted toward unregulated gambling.
Reports of returning machines could bring new cases
The central unanswered question is now how widespread the return of the machines has become.
Hanaway acknowledged that her office does not have an exact count of VLTs or other targeted gambling devices currently operating around Missouri.
That means reports of a resurgence should not be interpreted as evidence that any particular gas station, convenience store, bar or other Missouri business is breaking the law.
Determining whether a particular device violates Missouri law requires considering the machine itself and the circumstances in which it is operated.
The state’s willingness to act is no longer in doubt.
During 2026, Missouri authorities have pursued civil litigation, coordinated with federal prosecutors, obtained search warrants, seized machines and tens of thousands of dollars, and filed criminal charges.
The federal court ruling involving Torch devices also eliminated a major uncertainty about those specific machines. Ross determined that the Torch devices at issue contained elements of chance and qualified as gambling devices under Missouri law.
Now authorities say some machines are being switched back on.
For businesses considering whether to operate devices that Missouri authorities have identified as illegal gambling machines, Hanaway’s latest statement signals that another warning may not be the state’s next move.
The next step could be criminal prosecution.
And according to Missouri’s attorney general, that could mean jail.
Editor’s note: Criminal charges and civil allegations referenced in this article are allegations unless otherwise stated. Criminal defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proved guilty in a court of law.
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