The Illinois Supreme Court has refused to hear an appeal by Midwest Gaming, owner and operator of Rivers Casino in Des Plaines. The decision ends a three-year legal dispute between Cook County and the casino over the right to tax video gambling machines. As a result, the county may now collect a one-time payment of million in unpaid taxes from Midwest Gaming, and anticipates collecting about million annually in taxes. In a separate case, a state appellate panel also upheld the county’s right to tax gambling machines.
The case started in November 2012 when the Cook County Board of Commissioners first approved a tax on video gambling. Midwest Gaming then filed suit in Cook County Circuit Court. Both parties agreed the county would not enforce the tax law or issue noncompliance citations during the litigation period—as long as Midwest Gaming agreed to pay unsettled taxes following the court’s decision.
Midwest Gaming argued the state’s Riverboat Gambling Act prohibited the county from taxing video gambling machines and that such a tax would violate the state constitution. Midwest Gaming prevailed in circuit court, but Cook County appealed to the Illinois First District Appellate Court, which reversed the circuit court decision last August. Now the state Supreme Court refused to hear the case.
Under the Cook County ordinance, tax decals for video machines in casinos cost $1000, but only $200 for decals for machines in bars and restaurants. County officials said the tax decals generated more than $300,000 in 2015 and expect about $400,000 in 2016.
Public Information Officer for the Cook County Bureau of Finance Ted Nelson said, “Revenue streams vary greatly. For example, the county’s cigarette tax is projected to generate about $134 million while the anticipated annual gambling tax revenue is expected to be approximately $1.5 million based on all gaming terminals in Cook County.”
Meanwhile a court ruled the video game tax is within the county’s home-rule powers in a case filed by the nonprofit Illinois Coin Machine Operators Association. The organization still may appeal that decision to the state Supreme Court.
