The Illinois Gaming Board (IGB) recently voted 3-0 to grant a terminal operator license to James J. Banks, an influential Chicago lawyer and banker who served on the Illinois Tollway board under five governors.
License holders can distribute and draw income from video poker machines and similar devices in bars and restaurants where the games are legal.
The situation has changed since April 2021 when the IGB denied Banks’ company the license. In the denial letter, IGB Administrator Marcus Fruchter wrote applicants for gaming licenses must have “good character, honesty and integrity,” stating Banks “did not meet the requirements.”
The letter continued, “The board conducted an investigation which included a review of your business and social associations. Based on the results of that investigation, the board finds that your business and social associations would adversely affect public confidence and trust in video gaming and would discredit or tend to discredit the Illinois gaming industry.”
As a result, the gaming board determined granting Banks’ company the license “would not serve the interests of the citizens of Illinois.” Fruchter also noted Illinois law states the board “may not grant any video gaming license until the board is satisfied that the applicant is” someone who “does not present questionable business practices and financial arrangements incidental to the conduct of video gaming activities” and who doesn’t associate with “persons of notorious or unsavory reputation or who have extensive police records.”
Regarding the reversal over the license, IGB Chairman Charles Schmadeke said Banks “provided additional information to show there was nothing in his background that should make him ineligible to be involved in the gaming industry.” He added “further review” indicated Banks’ associations would not “have any sort of negative impact on gaming.”
A spokesperson for Banks said, “The IGB previously made a decision to deny Gaming Productions a license based on the information it had at the time. After Mr. Banks provided additional extensive documentation, the IGB rescinded its preliminary decision and determined Mr. Banks provided sufficient information and therefore qualified for a terminal operator license for Gaming Productions.”
A spokesperson for Governor J.D. Pritzker said, “The governor’s office respects the independence of the Illinois Gaming Board. I am not aware of any outreach directly to the governor. An attorney for Banks reached out to a governor’s office staffer in November 2021, and the staffer never returned the call.”
