Why It Matters
Missouri’s ongoing debate over slot machines at gas stations — legal in a gray area for years but never formally licensed — may finally be resolved not in the legislature, but at the ballot box. Three August Republican primary elections in Missouri’s state Senate could determine whether video lottery legislation has a viable path forward or faces another year of Senate obstruction.
What Happened
State Rep. Bill Hardwick (R-Dixon), the bill’s author, has watched his legislation pass the Missouri House in each of the past two years, only to be blocked in the Senate each time. Hardwick’s measure would authorize slot-style machines through the Missouri Lottery system, bringing currently unregulated gas station gaming under state oversight.
The Senate roadblock has been led in part by Sen. Lincoln Hough (R-Springfield), who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee and threatened to filibuster if supporters attempted to advance the bill this session. Hough, however, is leaving the Senate due to term limits, and who replaces him and other key senators this fall could reshape the legislative landscape entirely.
Hough put the stakes plainly in public remarks: “If you want gas station casinos, and you want slot machines in every freaking gas station in this state, then the people that are going to support that are the ones that are elected.”
Three Primaries to Watch
Hardwick himself is running for the open 16th District Senate seat, which runs along Interstate 44 from Rolla to Lebanon in south-central Missouri. His primary field includes former state Rep. Hannah Kelly (R-Norwood), state Rep. Don Mayhew (R-Crocker), and Phillip Lohmann (R-Rolla). Kelly has been among the bill’s most vocal critics, promising she would “absolutely filibuster” any video lottery measure if elected.
Mayhew’s position is more nuanced. He backed Hardwick’s 2025 bill but voted against this year’s version and has proposed separating the question of unregulated machines from a broader legalization vote, then putting legalization directly to Missouri voters.
In the 8th District — covering southeastern Jackson County — House Speaker Jon Patterson (R-Lee’s Summit) faces former state Rep. Dan Stacy (R-Blue Springs). Patterson has been the top recipient of gambling industry donations among Missouri political figures since the start of 2025, through both his campaign committee and a PAC called Missouri Alliance.
The 20th District race in rural Greene, Barton, Dade, and Webster counties pits State Sen. Curtis Trent (R-Springfield), who is running for Senate majority leader, against Lori Rook, a Springfield businesswoman who contributed $100,000 to her own campaign and finished third statewide in the 2024 state treasurer Republican primary.
By the Numbers
The financial divide among the 16th District candidates reflects the industry’s investment in the race. Hardwick’s campaign and his aligned PAC, Missouri Enterprise Fund, raised $306,000 since the start of 2025, with $190,700 of that coming from gambling interests — ranking him fourth-highest among all Missouri political figures for such donations.
Kelly’s campaign and an aligned PAC raised approximately $91,000 combined. Mayhew, who entered the legislature without a PAC, raised just $17,520, the smallest total in the field. Hardwick has been a state legislator since 2023.
Zoom Out
Missouri is one of several states grappling with how to handle gray-market gaming devices that proliferate at convenience stores and truck stops before formal regulation catches up. State legislatures across the country have also wrestled with related questions of industry regulation, including whether to impose stricter oversight on sectors that operate in regulatory gaps. Missouri’s situation is notable because a sitting bill sponsor is simultaneously a candidate whose electoral fate may determine the bill’s future.
What’s Next
The August Republican primaries will serve as a de facto referendum on the video lottery question within Missouri’s dominant party. If Hardwick wins a Senate seat and video lottery opponents lose ground, the bill’s supporters may finally find a path through the upper chamber in the next legislative session. Missouri lawmakers have already faced criticism for failing to deliver on other high-priority issues, increasing the pressure on the new Senate class to produce results when the next session convenes.