KSHB 41 reporter Ryan Gamboa covers Miami County in Kansas and Cass County in Missouri. He also covers agricultural topics. Ryan frequently keeps track of city council meetings and saw this on the agenda a couple weeks ago. He found that businesses with gaming machines were unaware of the ordinance and began diving deeper into the local concern from the city and business owners. Share your story idea with Ryan.
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Tuesday night's Belton, Missouri City Council meeting was full of questions and discussion regarding a proposed ordinance to ban 'no chance' gaming machines.
KSHB 41's Cass County reporter Ryan Gamboa first told the story a couple weeks ago.
"We’re probably looking at 15 to 25% that we are going to lose if we lose these," said Paradise Bar and Grill Owner, Teresa McRoy.
"The revenue they’re bringing in as they’re eating, drinking and they’re playing slots is huge," she said.
It's important to note, these games aren't "slot machines".
"No chance" or "zero chance" gaming machines are defined by the Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers (AGEM) as "those that involve devices programmed in another attempt to circumvent State law prohibition on "chance" games. "Zero Chance" and "no chance" games also may include a feature that can reveal the outcome of a play in advance, allegedly making them "skill" games that force players to make a decision to get an outcome."
That was Tuesday night's discussion in the second reading of Belton's proposed ordinance.
Teresa McRoy and a representative from a "no chance" gaming machine company put their names on the agenda to speak.
McRoy's message didn't steer far from what she has already told Gamboa. She's searching for a compromise with the city and explained the financial impact.
Thomas Gartman, the Chief Financial Officer with Kansas Capital Group, leases a few machines to some Belton businesses.
Gartman expressed their company's approach to not partner with gaming rooms seen in other communities. His clients are places like gas stations, bars, and laundromats.
Kansas Capital Group typically caps its number of machines at five per location.
He touted the financial benefits the machines bring to businesses and the investments owners can make in their operation.
"Seeing what people do with their businesses," he told KSHB 41. "When we've put machines in some of these locations, before the pandemic, they were barely hanging on, low inventory, no staff, cracked windows, can't fix the lights. It's been really rewarding to see people invest a good chunk of their money they are earning from machines back into their businesses."
The City Council heard the first reading of the ordinance ban and cited crime as a driving force to a prohibition. Kansas City, Missouri passed a prohibition ordinance earlier this fall, as did Springfield, Missouri.
Belton modeled its ordinance to align with those municipalities.
At Tuesday night's meeting, there was still no evidence presented the council that crime has been an issue at these locations.
On Tuesday night, Community Development Director Matt Wright, the champion of the ordinance, confirmed 12 total businesses with "no chance" gaming machines, estimating up to 50 machines, given three businesses staff were not able to access to get the full machine count.
"These aren't regulated, so nobody's told us where they all are," City Manager Joe Warren told the council following a question.
Ward 3 Councilman Chris Richardson asked to table the ordinance to do some more research on these machines to find a regulation solution.
"I think the way we went about this I don't like. I don't like that we didn't talk to these people. Nobody knew until the last second," Richardson said.
It's how Gamboa met Teresa McRoy ahead of the last meeting, seeking out business opinions on the ban.
Only one business told Gamboa they knew the council would be discussing possible ban.
"Why didn't I get a letter?" McRoy said a couple weeks ago.
Deliberation between the council members and City Attorney brought all sorts of ideas.
City Manager Joe Warren suggested banning the machines and then doing more research on regulations, to then discuss bringing them back in March.
Some council members, like James Pryan in Ward 2, said he supports that idea, concerned those that were force to shutdown operations in Kansas City would move to Belton.
There was even a fear from the council that these businesses would build a warehouse.
According to Gartman, that's not in the picture for his company.
"I am not planning a big expansion into Belton," he explained. "I have some locations in Belton because of the deals I have. The fear that I am going to build a big steel structure space and put a hundred machines in an area, that's not my intention."
Other concerns from the council included the state's role in regulation, the morality of the gaming machines, and the deceptive nature of the game company's marketing.
The Belton City Council voted to postpone the ordinance until March. Council members Johnson and Pryan both voted against it.
During that time, the City will conduct research to implement regulations on the machines or pass a prohibition.
McRoy told KSHB 41 she's willing to work alongside the city on a solution, including implementing an earnings tax or licenses to operate.
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