Kentucky court upholds ‘gray machines’ ban

A judge from Kentucky upheld the ban introduced by the legislature in 2023 on the so-called “gray machines”, agreeing with the Attorney General that this law does not violate freedom of speech or the guarantee of equal protection and is not an unconstitutional special legal act.

Franklin County Superior Court Judge Phillip Shepherd in his ruling Friday supported Attorney General Russell Coleman’s arguments defending House Bill 594, which would have banned slot machines commonly found in many bars and gas stations across the state.

The machines’ name comes from their unclear legal status, the “supposedly gray area” that Shepherd referred to in his 52-page ruling. Opponents describe the games as illegal gambling. Supporters call them “games of skill” and argued that a ban would allow the horse racing industry to monopolize gambling in the state. Churchill Downs filed an amicus curiae brief in defense of HB 594.

Shepherd wrote in his ruling that the plaintiffs, including the “skill-based” gaming company Pace-O-Matic, failed to prove their claim that HB 594 violates the constitutional right to free speech by attacking the game “Burning Barrel” because lawmakers did not like the ideas expressed in the game.

“The court is not persuaded that HB 594 was directed against Burning Barrel because of its expressive language, but that it was enacted to combat unregulated gambling,” Shepherd wrote.

Shepherd also wrote that while HB 594 did appear to benefit Kentucky horse racing tracks that supported the ban, that appearance alone did not make the law unconstitutional.

Coleman said in a statement that lawmakers “took a bold and bipartisan step to protect Kentucky children and families when they banned the gray machines.”

“After challenging the law, our Office launched a vigorous defense of the Act and the General Assembly’s fundamental role as the Commonwealth’s decision-making body,” Coleman said. “The decisive victory in the Franklin Circuit is a testament to the top-notch work of our attorneys, and I am honored to work with them every day.”

Guthrie True, an attorney representing the plaintiffs, told the Lantern he was disappointed with the ruling but didn’t have time to review it in detail. True said he plans to talk to his clients about a potential appeal.

According to the Louisville Courier-Journal, spending in the 2023 Kentucky Legislature has dominated lobbying around HB 594, with two groups on opposing sides spending nearly $600,000 on ads over two months. The legislation sharply divided Republicans in the GOP-dominated Legislature when it ultimately passed and was signed into law by Democratic Gov. Andy Behsear.

House Majority Whip Jason Nemes of Louisville opposed the ban, while also representing the gray machine company as an attorney. Nemes provided the Lexington Herald-Leader with an ethics opinion he requested and received from the Kentucky Legislative Ethics Commission, which stated that it was ethical to support and vote on HB 594 because the legislation affects the entire gray machine industry, not just his client. House Speaker David Osborne, R-Prospect, co-sponsored HB 594.

Earlier this year, Louisville Public Media reported that slot machines had begun to reappear in gas stations, with manufacturers of the “skill-based” machines arguing that they had been changed to become “risk-free” games so as not to conflict with HB 594.

Rep. Killian Timoney, R-Nicholasville, the lead sponsor of HB 594, told the Lantern that the companies have not fundamentally changed. He said Shepherd’s ruling would give the attorney general and district attorneys “a lot more teeth” to enforce the law.

“They’re just extensions of the gray machines because there’s still an element of chance — that’s just a secondary element,” Timoney said. “Russell Coleman is going to have much clearer guidance on how to get messages to district attorneys about (House Bill) 594.”

Timoney, who lost a primary election last month, said he doesn’t think additional policy will be needed in the next legislative session, adding that the key now will be enforcing the laws that are already in place.

This story originally appeared on kentuckylantern.com.

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