Gambling machine maker to pay $375K fine to Mo.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- A gambling machine supplier has agreed to pay a $375,000 state fine for not telling Missouri regulatory officials about a federal subpoena and other law enforcement actions related to its electronic bingo games in Alabama.

The settlement between International Game Technology and the Missouri Gaming Commission was released Thursday by the agency with a notation that it had been approved by the commission a day earlier.

The settlement document says the Las Vegas-based company, which is licensed to supply machines to Missouri casinos, repeatedly violated Missouri regulations requiring gambling companies to inform the state regulatory agency of any subpoenas, investigations of substantial changes to the information previously submitted as part of its licensure.

According to the settlement, IGT failed to promptly inform the Missouri agency of several actions related to a crackdown on electronic bingo games in Alabama.

The settlement cites the company's receipt of a federal subpoena in June 2008 requesting documents related to IGT's business dealings with VictoryLand and the Jefferson County (Ala.) Racing Association. It also cites a January 2009 letter IGT received from Alabama Gov. Bob Riley notifying it of a new task force targeting illegal gambling.

Although IGT did inform Missouri's regulatory agency of a June 29, 2010, seizure of electronic gambling machines from the Greenetrack gambling center, the Missouri settlement document says IGT did not promptly tell the agency of the seizure of a single machine from the same site several weeks earlier nor of resulting litigation. The settlement also cites a failure to promptly notify the Missouri Gaming Commission of an attempted raid at the VictoryLand gambling site in January 2010 that resulted in litigation.

A spokeswoman for IGT did not immediately respond Thursday to a request for comment.