JEFFERSON CITY — Missouri’s top gambling regulator is retiring, leaving gaming officials to search for a new director at a time when the industry could be poised to expand.
Peggy Richardson, a retired circuit court judge, is the eighth executive director of the Missouri Gaming Commission.
Peggy Richardson, the eighth executive director in Missouri Gaming Commission history, announced this week she is leaving the $129,000 per year position as of June 1.
Richardson, a former Moniteau County judge, said she will spend time with her family and friends.
“In the past several months I have been reminded that every day is a gift and, quite frankly, I have a lot of things on my bucket list that I want to get done. Besides, if you never step aside, no one else ever gets to step up,” she said in a statement.
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The commission is taking applications to fill the vacancy through May 1.
The next director could face the prospect of an expansion of the office pending the outcome of the legislative session and two proposed initiative petitions that are attempting to get on the November ballot.
Although the prospects of the Legislature approving sports wagering appear dead in the current session, which ends May 17, supporters of the ballot initiatives are in the field attempting to collect enough signatures to go before voters.
One would bring sports betting to Missouri, putting the gaming commission in charge of launching the program. Supporters say they have collected over 100,000 signatures en route to their goal of 300,000.
According to a fiscal analysis of the proposal, a sports gambling system in Missouri would require the hiring of an estimated 15 additional employees to regulate and enforce the program.
The annual cost of an expansion was pegged at $3.9 million.
The other ballot question would add a casino to the state’s current fleet of 13. The proposed casino would be located at the Lake of the Ozarks if it wins approval.
If the Lake of the Ozarks casino is approved by voters, a fiscal analysis shows the need to hire at least one dozen additional employees to regulate and enforce state gambling laws.
The cost is estimated to be $2.6 million.
Richardson served as an associate circuit judge in Moniteau County beginning in 1998 and was chosen by former Gov. Jay Nixon as a judge for the 26th judicial circuit in 2016.
Richardson, the first woman to serve in the post, was among more than three dozen applicants for the position in 2021.