Two lawsuits filed last week are set to challenge the constitutionality of a Missouri ballot measure that would eliminate the state’s player loss limit rule and cap the number of casinos in the state. The progress of the ballot measure is being closely watched in neighbouring states.

On the heels of a noteworthy 2009 performance, in which Missouri's casino market served as one of a very select few to see gains amidst the height of the recession's grip, 2010 will be marked by the emergence of River City, the state's 13th and final casino which is slated for a spring 2010 launch.

The Missouri gaming commission has placed a moratorium on new casinos in the state until voters decide a measure in November that may prohibit additional casinos beyond those already in existence or approved and under construction. The commission also expressed concerns over the impact of the US economic slowdown on the casino industry.

New tax revenues created as a result of the decision to abolish loss limits in the state’s casinos could fall at least $70m short of original projections, the director of the Missouri Gaming Commission has estimated.

A judge in Missouri has cleared the way for a November vote to lift the state’s unique casino loss limit laws after throwing out a legal challenge to the referendum presented by plaintiffs aggrieved that voter approval would also introduce a cap on the number of casinos the state may host.

Ameristar Casinos has seen an immediate impact from the removal of outdated loss limit rules in Missouri in November, with table game drop boosted by 12 percent year on year in December.

The Missouri Gaming Commission is being dragged into court, as had been widely predicted, over its unprecedented decision to strip the financially struggling President Casino in downtown St. Louis of its state gaming licence.

In addition to making their choice between John McCain and Barack Obama, US voters are also set to make decisions in referenda on a range of local issues this November. Seven states will vote on issues directly concerning gambling, but those measures to expand state gaming industries will have to overcome fierce opposition from well-organized anti-gambling groups in the run-up to election day.

Las Vegas Sands has pulled its application to operate a casino in Wyandotte County, Kansas, citing an upcoming referendum down river in Missouri that could free the state’s four floating casinos from present loss-limit regulations. LVS’s decision comes as the Kansas casino process enters its final stages this summer.

A bill designed to make Missouri’s casinos more competitive with those in neighbouring Kansas and Illinois has lost the support of many of the state’s operators because they cannot swallow the tax hike that would accompany it.