Riverboat loss limit legislation targeted by audit

Joe Stange

Wednesday, June 28, 2000 | 10:41 a.m.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - Lawmakers didn't make the law clear enough when they required a $500 loss limit at Missouri riverboat casinos, State Auditor Claire McCaskill and the Missouri Gaming Commission both say in a report released Wednesday.

The audit says the commission has allowed the law to be broken because gamblers can enter Missouri riverboat casinos with buckets of tokens, in addition to the $500 limit on tokens that can be purchased inside.

The audit, which covers a period of three years ending June 30, 1999, also blames a "lack of guidance or clarity in the law" for the commission's interpretation of the law.

Because visitors can gamble with the $500 plus whatever they carry in, some people are losing more than the limit on every excursion, the audit says.

"They are allowing you to come on the boat with as many tokens as you like," McCaskill said in an interview. "So you can lose as much as you like."

The problem, the commission responded, is that lawmakers failed to define the word "loss."

"While the Auditor's interpretation of the statute may be correct, it is simply another view of a vague statute that fails to define its most important term," the commission wrote in its response.

The commission has interpreted the loss limit to mean a "buy-in limit," or a cap on how much money in tokens gamblers can buy each time they visit.

"We spent thousands of hours trying to come up with a workable interpretation of loss limit," said Mel Fisher, executive director of the commission, at the group's scheduled meeting Wednesday in St. Louis. "We certainly would accept any guidance the Legislature gives us."

The commission also said in its response McCaskill's interpretation of the law would mean less tax revenue for the state and make it harder for Missouri casinos to compete with casinos in neighboring states.

McCaskill, who was announcing her findings Wednesday in Kansas City and St. Louis, said it's not her role as auditor to weigh how much money the casinos would bring in if they follow the law.

"My call is ... to inform the public that in some ways, this is a joke," McCaskill said. "If you take the law literally, it is clear they're not even making an attempt to enforce it."

The loss limit law reads, "The commission shall regulate the wagering structure for gambling excur