Mississippi Gaming Commission Executive Director Larry Gregory recently said that Illegal video gambling machines cost the state $35.9 million annually in lost tax revenue. Unlike states like Louisiana, in Mississippi video gambling is illegal but since it's not a high priority for the local law enforcement, the local authorities don't have the manpower to police this problem.
J.W Ledbetter, chief of criminal intelligence for the Gaming Commission, said that even if they manage to close down an illegal video poker parlor, the operators of the gaming hall don't stay out of business for long because operating illegal video poker halls is considered to be a misdemeanor offence and arresting the owners is a low priority.
Each machine can generate $100 or more daily, Ledbetter said, and since it is tax-free money, many bar owners take the risk and put machines like that in their bars. Ledbetter's five investigators have been working full-time on casino enforcement but still cannot cope with the proliferation of illegal video gambling.
According to a 1999 federal report by the National Gambling Impact Study Commission, video poker machines can be highly addictive since they make a form of "convenience gambling" due to the fast pace of the games combined with the typical locations of such machines- close to residential and non-gambling commercial establishments e.g. bars, stores and gas stations.
