Torch Electronics is the largest provider of gray-market slot-style machines, known as VLTs (Video Lottery Terminals), in Missouri. However, after a federal ruling declaring them illegal, under Missouri gambling laws, coupled with pressure from Missouri’s Attorney General, the company is bowing to governmental pressure and shuttering its operations in the Show Me State.
Torch Extinguishes VLTs
Estimates suggest there are between 14,000 and 20,000 gray-market gaming machines operating in bars, gas stations, and convenience stores across Missouri. Often referred to as “no-chance” or “skill” machines, they virtually mirror traditional slot machines but masquerade as games of skill rather than chance.
Torch Electronics has maintained that the machines are legal because players can view the outcome of the next spin before placing a bet, which they claim removes the element of chance that typically defines illegal gambling.
However, a civil jury in late September 2025 found that the sequence was so long and frequently reset—such as when the machine was rebooted—that it was effectively impossible for players to predict.
In February 2026, a federal judge in St. Louis ruled for the first time that Torch’s machines qualify as “gambling devices,” making their use outside land-based casinos illegal in Missouri. One of the chief reasons for that ruling was that players usually continue to play through multiple spins rather than stopping after one, which means they are essentially paying to reveal outcomes that remain unknown in practice.
Retailers Warned
Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway reiterated in a press release last week that it was “illegal to provide access to unregulated machines and games for gambling purposes.” Hanaway also added that her office would continue to “seek enforcement action against other operators, manufacturers, and retail stores facilitating this illegal activity.”
Torch Electronics is no longer seeking to engage after the jury verdict and the subsequent federal court ruling, augmented by a hostile AG’s office, has come down against the grey-market machines they provide.
“The U.S. Attorney’s office and the Missouri Attorney General have indicated they are going to move forward with criminal investigations and proceedings,” the company wrote to its location partners.
“While we are confident in our position, criminal proceedings create real uncertainty for our business — and more importantly, they create risk for all of you. We take that seriously, and we want to do everything we can to protect you.”
The machines are often located in Missouri’s convenience stores, barrooms, and truck stops. All the locations where the gray machines are located were instructed to turn them off as of April 10th.
“Compliance is important,” Hanaway said. Those who don’t comply will be subject to additional penalties up to and including criminal charges.
Now that Torch has complied with the Attorney General’s demands and has presumably agreed to stop waging legal battles to stave off law enforcement from shutting down its machines, there may be a pathway toward Torch reentering the market under the auspices of state regulations.
“We’re still talking to them about what the other terms look like,” Hanaway said. “But the first step was to get them to stop taking Missourians’ money.”
