Missouri started a state lottery in 1986. The state also permits charity gaming, and in June 1987 pari-mutuel racing began. The most noticeable form of gambling in the state is found on fourteen riverboats that started operations in the mid-1990s, during a very confusing series of court battles and voter referenda.
The initial vote to approve riverboat gambling came on 3 November 1992. The legislative initiative authorized casino boats for the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. The boats had to take two-hour cruises, and players could not lose more than $500 during the cruise. After the referendum, seven companies applied for licenses. Before the boats could cruise with full-scale casino gambling, however, the state was hit with a lawsuit challenging the right to operate casino games. The state constitution banned lotteries. The initial court ruling was that most casino games were lottery games. The boats that were operating had to close down their machines, roulette wheels, and baccarat games, as these were considered lotteries. They were permitted to have live poker and blackjack games. A few did for a short time. (The state could have a lottery because the voters in 1986 had amended the constitution to permit a state-run lottery only).
The casinos got together and put a new constitutional initiative on the ballot in April 1994. This time the voters said no, to their games. The casinos immediately started another petition campaign, however, and finally the voters approved the required constitutional amendment in November 1994. Fourteen casino boats were then approved for the state’s waters. The boats pay fees and a tax of 20 percent on their gambling win, which is shared between the state and the local community. They have enjoyed a mixed success, as they face considerable competition – among themselves and with boats in Iowa, Illinois, and Mississippi. Since the beginning the boats have sought to have the $500 betting loss cap eliminated, but they have failed in these efforts.
They have also sought to remove the requirement that they have to cruise in the rivers and be docked within the channels of the rivers. This ridiculous requirement was revealed for its stupidity when a commercial barge hit one of the boats in its dockside position at a time when there were 2,500 players aboard. A major catastrophe was narrowly avoided. Several companies began to put boats in artificial channels cut into the river. The gaming commission approved this move; however, the state supreme court ruled that this violated the requirement that the boats be in the river. Again the casinos went to the voters, and in 1998, the voters said the boats could be in artificial “moats” and that actual cruises were no longer necessary. The boats must still have “mock” cruises of two hours, however, during which the gamblers cannot lose more than $500.
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