Illinois state Rep. Kam Buckner, an ally of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, has proposed legalizing slot and video poker machines in Chicago bars and restaurants.
Chicago has not participated in the video gaming terminal (VGT) program created by a 2009 law and launched in 2012. The law authorized up to five gaming machines at each bar and liquor-licensed restaurant. Chicago never lifted its local ban on slot and video poker machines, and as such, has not seen any of the revenue generated by more than 30,000 VGT machines placed elsewhere in the state.
This situation resulted in the spread of unlicensed and unregulated sweepstakes machines in Chicago. Those machines offer an option to play for free, but with wagers, pay off in coupons for online merchandise.
Buckner’s proposal would ban bars operating sweepstakes machines from being granted a license to operate the VGT games. This has concerned lawmakers who represent small businesses, many minority-owned, that rely on revenue from the machines, considered illegal gambling by the Illinois Gaming Board (IGB).
A spokeswoman from the board said Bucker’s proposal does not adequately address the illegal gaming problem.
The measure as introduced “does not adequately address the problem of illegal sweepstakes machines, and it raises other significant regulatory, administrative, and gaming integrity concerns,” Gaming Board spokeswoman Beth Kaufman said in a statement to the Chicago Tribune. “Combatting unlicensed and illegal gambling, including sweepstakes machines, is a longtime IGB priority.”
The proposal comes as Chicago seeks every avenue to increase municipal revenues, as the Illinois legislature seeks new revenue for the state. A posted hearing on internet casino legislation was canceled by the House Gaming Committee, after which committee Chairman Dan Didech told PlayUSA that the hearing had never been scheduled.
He further told the news site that no hearing on the subject is anticipated. “(A hearing) is unlikely in the immediate future,” Didech said. “I wouldn’t read too much into what gets posted for hearing. The default is that every bill in the committee gets posted every week.”
The iGaming bill, HB 2239, was carried over from last year’s legislative calendar and assigned to the committee on January 29.
