The announcement last week by Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway that 35 illegal gambling machines were seized across four counties illustrated another move toward weeding out the estimated 25,000 gambling machines in the state.
In a recent interview with the Missourian, Hanaway said removing machines is about more than the illegal gambling itself, it’s about ending crime related to the illegal machine market. She estimated the slots alone make up a $1 billion market.
“When you have that much cash floating around, there are plenty of other crimes associated with it,” Hanaway said, sitting in a St. Louis restaurant. “It’s kind of ironic, but there’s crimes against the companies that run those machines, like embezzlement … You start to get the kind of turf wars and violence that was around prohibition.”
The machines’ outcomes are pre-determined or “no-chance,” and were ruled illegal in February by U.S. District Judge John Ross. Not only do the machine owners operate under an illegal market, Hanaway said she believes the machines can draw other kinds of crime to certain locations.
“My biggest objective is to reduce violent crime in Missouri,” Hanaway said. “Where these machines are located … you do tend to find 7-OH or illegal hemp or cannabis being sold, and then they become gathering places for people who are engaged in some of those more violent crimes.”
County prosecutors have original jurisdiction over violent crime, meaning the attorney general’s office only gets those types of cases if they are referred. So instead of taking a direct approach, Hanaway said her office targets these areas to prevent violent crime from happening there in the first place.
She has also gone after the sale of 7-OH drugs, claiming that they are three times more powerful than morphine but still legal to sell in Missouri.
“(7-OH) is my highest priority, because it’s killing people,” Hanaway said, calling them highly addictive and intoxicating. Her request for a temporary restraining order against CBD American Shaman to stop their sale of 7-OH drugs was denied last Friday.
American Shaman cited experts to claim their products did not pose a public health risk. Hanaway’s team produced evidence of the drugs potency, suggesting state law could be used to block their sale.
The judge hearing the case asked for further information and the case continues.
Hanaway’s strategy also puts illegal machines and 7-OH drugs in the spotlight and brings them to the attention of local officials.
“I would count as my biggest accomplishment the fact that I’ve been able to get our office but also other law enforcement authorities all focused on those priorities,” Hanaway said.
In regards to Hanaway’s approach, Rep. John Martin, R-Columbia, said that he is “very happy with her work as far as protecting Missouri citizens and doing her job as attorney general in various areas.”
Rep. Adrian Plank, D-Columbia, said he approved her targeting of illegal machines but questions her judgment because she had represented Monsanto in lawsuits regarding the herbicide Roundup, which has been tied to cancer.
“She was defending a company that is known for their products causing cancer, so I lost a little respect for her there, but I respect her on the VLT stuff, I don’t want to see those things in my community,” Plank said. “My disdain for her on the Monsanto stuff, it always makes me question what she does in the future.”
Hanaway was appointed Sep. 8, 2025, after a string of three people who were attorney general took and left office in the eight-year span since 2017. Josh Hawley and Eric Schmidt became U.S. senators, while Andrew Bailey now serves in President Donald Trump’s cabinet as FBI co-deputy director.
The three Missouri Attorneys General before Hawley had served for 32 years.
“The office does need some continuity,” Hanaway said, “and that is not a dig to my predecessors.” Hanaway has expressed intention to finish out her current term and run for another.
Originally from Nebraska and Iowa, Hanaway has previously held multiple offices in Missouri across all branches. She served as the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri and was speaker of the Missouri House, the first woman to hold that position.
Hanaway said she has a long to-do list for the rest of the year, and seeks to target Medicaid and consumer fraud, as well as fight price fixing to lower insulin prices.