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A move by new Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens and the issue of gaming expansion in Illinois are factors in what happens this year in the St. Louis casino market.

Greitens, sworn in last week as Missouri’s first Republican governor in eight years, almost immediately issued an executive order that freezes new rules and regulations for businesses in the state.

The new governor’s order is in line with a pro-business agenda he promised for his first year in office. Regulatory reform also is a priority for Republican supermajorities in the Legislature.

Affected are all state agencies, including the Missouri Gaming Commission, which makes and enforces rules governing the state’s 13 licensed casinos, including four in the St. Louis area.

The move raises questions for agencies that are drawing up rules for many state programs. For example, the gaming commission is writing rules to regulate online fantasy sports betting that state lawmakers put in place last year.

Daniel Holmes, a gaming analyst, said the freeze could upend plans by casino operators to upgrade equipment or make other operational modifications. Such changes would require commission approval, said Holmes, manager of the Gaming Services Group at RubinBrown, in Clayton.

Greitens’ order includes a provision that says a proposed regulation affecting health, safety, welfare or “is otherwise time sensitive or required by law,” should be submitted to his office by Feb. 28.

A casino executive played down on Friday the effect the freeze will have on his industry. Troy Stremming, executive vice president of government relations and public affairs for Pinnacle Entertainment, said in a statement he does not believe the governor’s order “to immediately suspend all rulemaking until Feb. 28, 2017, will have any detrimental impact on our industry or our business, and we anticipate a successful 2017.”

Among Las Vegas-based Pinnacle’s properties are the Ameristar casinos in Kansas City and St. Charles, plus the River City Casino in south St. Louis County.

“Regarding Gov. Greitens’ executive order freezing all new state regulations and ordering a review of every regulation currently in force, we believe that it is always great to have fresh eyes take a look at all rules and regulations to ensure that burdensome and restrictive regulations on business growth and development do not impede the excellent progress being made in St. Charles and in south St. Louis County,” Stremming said.

Missouri casino revenue is experiencing modest growth. Gaming revenue among the state’s casinos in 2016 barely topped $1.7 billion, up by just 0.8 percent from the previous year, according to figures compiled by RubinBrown. Casino revenue rose by 2.5 percent in 2015.

Growth in the billion-dollar St. Louis casino market fell just short of matching the statewide figure. Revenue in the St. Louis market — which includes the Argosy Alton and the Casino Queen, in East St. Louis — rose $7.2 million last year to just over $1.01 billion, a 0.7 percent increase.

St. Louis is the nation’s seventh-largest casino market and Kansas City ranks 12th, with $782 million in revenue in 2015, according to RubinBrown and the state gaming commission.

Missouri has had casinos since 1994 and, therefore, is a mature industry that will continue to have moderate growth, Holmes said.

Even though the state is a leader in legalizing online fantasy sports wagering, the effect on casinos is slight, Holmes added. Fantasy sports and casinos appeal to separate audiences, said the analyst, adding that FanDuel, DraftKings and the three other fantasy sports sites operating in Missouri appeal mainly to younger people while casino customers skew to an older demographic.

Last fall, the state gaming commission estimated Missouri will get $600,000 each year in fantasy sports taxes. Missouri’s casino taxes annually produce more than $440 million in state revenue.

In Illinois, issues facing casinos in 2017 are unchanged from previous years. The issues are casino expansion and competition from video games that provide betting.

Nearly 25,000 video game terminals are spread across Illinois at bars, restaurants, bowling alleys and truck stops. Holmes said video games are a factor in the decline of Illinois casino revenue, which fell 1.7 percent last year, to $1.4 billion.

State lawmakers for years have debated casino expansion, which former Gov. Pat Quinn opposed. Key to the issue is whether a deal is reached that would fulfill Chicago’s desire for a downtown casino, Holmes said.

Illinois has several options, he said. Among them would be a decision to allow the state’s 10 casinos a second location on their existing licenses. Such an arrangement would help the Casino Queen, which for years has hoped to buy Fairmount Park and install slot machines at the race track in Collinsville.

If casinos were allowed a second location, the Queen could install slots and, perhaps, table games at Fairmount, Holmes said.

Hard hit in the St. Louis market is its smallest casino — Argosy — where revenue fell 10 percent last year. Part of the Alton casino is closed weekdays because of “lack of play,” Holmes said.

A factor in Argosy’s favor is its relatively low overhead, said the analyst, pointing to Lumière Place, which includes two hotels, including the luxury Four Seasons, in addition to its big casino on the St. Louis riverfront. Pinnacle sold the complex to Tropicana Entertainment in 2014 for $260 million.

Lumière revenue rose less than 1 percent last year, when a 2.3 percent drop in slot machine revenue more than offset a 13.1 percent rise in table game winnings. Holmes said Tropicana, headed by investor Carl Icahn, is more interested than Pinnacle in focusing its casinos on slot machines. Last month, President-elect Donald Trump picked Icahn as a special adviser on issues of regulatory reform.

Ameristar in St. Charles, the area’s biggest casino by revenue, is among the gambling halls beefing up its offerings, Holmes said. The changes include the third revival of the casino’s nightclub, now called Ryse.

Roxann Kinkade, a Pinnacle spokeswoman, said Ryse is “packed” on weekends for appearances by DJs and other performers.