A bill that would phase out “no-chance” gaming machines is making its way through the Missouri House of Representatives Emerging Issues committee. The same bill would legalize video lottery terminals and phase them in as a replacement for the gray-market no-chance machines.
The bill, HB970, would create a new regulatory section allowing video gaming terminals (VGTs) throughout the state. It also provides a formal definition of no-chance games and allows them to operate temporarily as long as they have been tested to assure compliance. However, it bans new contracts for the machines starting August 28, 2025, and places a 180-day limit on their continued operation.
It’s an interesting compromise measure. Many states are wrestling with gray-market gaming machines of one type or another. Attempts to ban the devices typically receive pushback from retailers who rely on revenue from them. However, offering their temporary use while transitioning to an alternative might alleviate that opposition.
Missouri’s gray-area no-chance machines would come to an end
Missouri is home to a network of “no-chance” gambling machines at various retail locations and convenience stores throughout the state. The machines feel like gambling devices but use a fixed sequence of outcomes rather than a random-number generator. They also display to the user what the next outcome will be, although players may still pay for a losing play in order to see if the following one is a winner.
Those features have allowed the games to operate in a legal gray area. The manufacturers argue that they can’t be “gambling” because there’s no randomness and the outcome of each play is known in advance.
However, Rep. Bill Hardwick, the bill’s sponsor, said that gray area needs to be eliminated through regulations that clarify what is and isn’t legal.
“I think that what we owe all of the businesses in the state of Missouri is regulatory certainty as to what exactly is authorized by the law, what exactly is not authorized by the law,” Hawkins told the Columbia Missourian.
The bill would create a “video lottery game” category of gaming machines that Missouri’s lottery commission would oversee.
All video lottery games would undergo independent testing to ensure they, among other things:
- Adhrere to federal laws and regulations
- Pay out at least 80% over their lifetime,
- Use a random number generator for outcomes
- Do not have an internal means to manipulate game odds
- Show a complete play history that includes bets placed, credits paid, and credits cashed out for “the most recent game played and ten games played immediately prior”
- Accept bills
- Are connected to a “centralized computer system” the commission approves
No-chance machines would be phased out by early 2026
Hawkins’ bill outlaws any new no-chance game contracts, sales, or operations starting after August 28, 2025.
However, it allows no-chance operators already in a contract to continue operating provided they apply for a permit sticker from the lottery commission for every machine they operate. The operators could continue offering their no-chance games for up to 180 days, or until receiving permission to operate VLTs. Any establishment with VLTs would have to remove its no-chance machines within 48 hours.
A sticker issued on August 28, the last possible day, would expire on Feb. 24, 2026. Thus, the bill would guarantee that the no-chance machines would be fully phased out by March 2026.
The permit stickers would cost $25 each and require the operator to provide a certificate from a third-party testing service to prove compliance.
Kentucky also dealing with gray machines
Missouri is not alone in its efforts to bring regulation to no-chance machines. Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman took a hard stand against the Bluegrass State’s version of no-chance: “risk-free play”.
Coleman notified prosecutors and law enforcement officials that operating a risk-free or other type of gray machine is illegal and carries a maximum sentence of one year in jail and up to $500.
“The law is clear — gray machines and other games like them are illegal gambling devices that have no place in Kentucky,” Coleman said.