A veteran GOP operative spearheading efforts to elect Republicans to the statehouse in Missouri is simultaneously working for a gaming-machine company that regulators say is distributing illegal gambling devices in the state.

The state GOP tapped Gregg Keller in January to lead the Missouri Victory Committee, an arm of the party that it says “will work to ensure Republican victories at every level of Missouri government in 2020.” That role puts Keller in the employ of a state party whose platform calls for “strict enforcement of current laws on gambling” and “prohibiting the further expansion of gambling within Missouri beyond that already authorized.”

At the same time, though, Keller is serving as a spokesman for Torch Electronics, a videogaming device company that has placed terminals in bars and truck stops across Missouri. In July, the state’s Gaming Commission ruled that the types of machines distributed by Torch are considered gambling devices under state law, meaning their presence in businesses without gaming licenses is illegal.