Slot machines in locations across Missouri violate state gambling laws, a federal jury found Monday in a verdict that Torch Electronics, the most visible operator of “gray market” games, unfairly forced a competitor out of 20 locations.
The case laid bare some of the secrets surrounding Torch, which began placing its games in convenience stores, fraternal halls and other locations starting in 2017. It is the first time any court decision has approached the question of whether Torch’s games violate Missouri gambling laws.
The jury found in favor of TNT Amusements Inc. of Sullivan and ordered Torch to pay $500,000. Jim Turntine, owner of TNT, has been fighting with Torch since at least 2020. He has a pending lawsuit in St. Louis County over some of the issues raised in the federal case.
Over the course of the trial in St. Louis, which consumed most of last week in front of Senior District Judge John Ross, jurors heard testimony about Torch’s claims its games are legal because there is no element of chance in the outcome and TNT’s arguments that those improper claims led retailers to replace its games with Torch games.
In his instructions to the jury, Ross told it to consider whether Torch made false statements to obtain business, including “this amusement device does not fit any definition of a ‘gambling...
Trump said that every alleged Venezuelan drug boat his administration targets “kills 25,000 Americans.” That figure is absurd. In 2024, the U.S. saw around 82,000 drug overdose deaths total. At a ...