- Casino
- By State
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Georgia
- Florida
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- Maryland
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
- By State
- Slots
- Poker
- Sports
- Esports
PACs Affiliated with Lobbyist for “Gray Market” Gaming Company Receive $250K

Torch Electronics, based in Wildwood, Missouri, has been previously accused of operating games illegally and is now under the spotlight for some sensitive donations to multiple political action committees (PACs).
Six Donations, Same Lobbyist
The company has made six $40,000 donations to Missouri Growth PAC, MO Majority PAC, Missouri C PAC, Missouri AG PAC, Missouri Senior PAC, and Conservative Leaders of Missouri totaling $240,000. What raises suspicion here are not the donations themselves, but rather the fact that every single PAC is associated with Steve Tilley – a former Speaker of the House who is currently a lobbyist for Torch Electronics.
While lobbying firms do often set up PACs as a channel for donations from clients, it’s rather unusual to set up multiple political action committees. There are exceptions, of course, for organizations such as labor unions, which have both state and local members. What is highly unusual in this case, however, is that this is happening with a game machine business donating to six PACs, all associated with a lobbyist they employ.
Torch Sensitive Donations History
For people familiar with Torch Electronics’ history this comes as no surprise, however. The company’s first donation this year is remarkably similar to its donation from last year when it wrote eight checks, each amounting to $33,333 and all distributed to “Tilley PACs” as the Missouri Independent called them in June of last year. In 2018, the amount was a grand total of around $430,000 – again, distributed between “Tilley PACs”, this time six of them.
In 2017, Gardner Capital which was also a client of Tilley’s donated to four of his PACs, which then made a combined donation totaling $10,000 to Independence Mayor Eileen Weir. Later on, the city council, along with Weir, passed a vote to spend approximately $1 million to buy a golf course in partnership with another client of Tilley’s – Independence Power and Light, the city’s utility company – to turn it into a solar farm.
Legal Fog Surrounding Multiple Company Facets
The matter is not less complicated when it comes to the PAC donations that took place this past week. Legal skeptics see donating to multiple PACs with shared affiliates as a loophole to circumvent the limitations imposed on candidate donations. This is further affirmed by federal law, under which if two or more PACs are connected, they would still share a single limit. By design, this would limit the amount of money the recipient of the donation can receive. However, the state of Missouri does not have a similar law in place, infusing the matter with a certain degree of legal unclarity.
This is not the only activity that Torch has been under legal scrutiny for. The company was also involved in a lawsuit regarding its “gambling machines” which were pulled from a Springfield convenience store, as reported by STL Today back in August 2021. This was a direct result of a Greene County judge signing off a search warrant for no fewer than 15 machines.
The Missouri Gaming Commission has deemed them “gambling devices”, which can only be operated inside licensed casinos, giving grounds to the state highway patrol to consider these games illegal. Legislative efforts to officially outlaw Torch’s gaming machines – which remarkably resemble slot machines – have failed, however.
This is mostly thanks to the fact that Torch is heavily lobbying against such a change, arguing their machines are not gambling devices, therefore unfit to be regulated as such. It appears all similar questions will be decided in the courtrooms of Missouri until changes in the law have been made.
Related Topics:
Kyamil is a big tech fan, who loves hummus on everything and has enjoyed writing from a young age. From essays, through personal art, to news pieces and more serious tech analysis. In recent years he’s found fintech and gambling collide with all his interests, so he truly shares our core passion for the entire gambling scene and furthering the education of the mass citizen on these topics.
Must Read
Casino
August 29, 2025
Missouri Exec Stole $1.5M to Fund Travel and Gambling Expenses
Casino
August 27, 2025
VGW Shuts Down Chumba Casino and Global Poker in Canada
More Articles
Legal
September 2, 2025
Curaçao Court Says Parimatch Unjustly Took Player’s Funds
Casino
September 2, 2025
Criminal Boss “Fat Mike” Denied Compassionate Release from Prison
Industry
September 2, 2025
Kazakhstan Could Criminalize Influencers Promoting Gambling Content
Poker
September 2, 2025
Infrared Camera Poker Scam Busted in Birmingham Gambling Dens
Slots
September 2, 2025
Discover the Riches of a Molten Jungle in Play’n GO’s Fire Toad 2
Casino
September 2, 2025
55% of Filipino Gamblers, Unaware of Risks Tied to Illegal Sites
Casino
September 2, 2025
Billionaire Sues Star Sydney Over $57M Gambling Loss
Industry
September 2, 2025
UK Launches New Anti-Fraud Rules Impacting Betting Firms
Casino
September 1, 2025
UBS Upgrade Pushes Wynn Higher Amid Optimism for UAE Casino Resort