Board Votes to Keep Gambling Machines Illegal

As of 2009, video gambling is legal in the state of Illinois. But as of Tuesday night, it won’t be coming to the any time soon.

The Village Board voted 3-2, with one vote of present, not to repeal an ordinance that bans gambling machines within the village limits. Repealing that law, passed in 1935, would have been toward legalizing video poker and other games in the village, in accordance with a state law that puts such activities under the Illinois Gaming Board.

The 2009 law also established a 30 percent tax on video gaming revenue, which will be split between the state and local governments – for every dollar that comes in, the state gets 25 cents and the local municipality gets five cents. The state money goes into the capital projects fund.

It is up to each municipality to decide whether they want to allow video gambling – even if a city or village doesn’t have a current ordinance banning it, there is an opt-out option. Village Board members have been discussing video gaming for weeks, and have heard from several business owners and residents in support of allowing it.

On Tuesday, they heard from one more: Pat Burke, of Nick and Pat’s on Station Drive, told the board that many Oswego businesses would likely close if video gambling was not enacted. He said some bars and restaurants have had video gaming machines for 20 or 25 years, and if they lose those gaming machines, they would shut their doors.

Trustees Gail Johnson and Judy Solinger voted to repeal the law, while Trustees Tony Giles, Jeff Lawson and Scott Volpe voted to keep it. Trustee Terry Michels voted present.

Johnson said she didn’t hear from any residents opposed to video gambling. She voted yes, she said, because she supports an individual’s right to spend their money on any legal activity they wish. She also said it is “important for us to make sure we are not forcing anything underground we don’t want underground.”

Giles said he was concerned about the example the village would be setting, particularly for younger residents, by allowing video gambling. He said money lost on a video gaming machine is money that is not flowing into the local economy.

Volpe said that even though the state law demands that video gaming machines be placed in separate, over-21 areas of establishments, he’s not certain the village would have the ability to enforce that. He said in order for the village to make money on video gambling, residents would have to lose much more money, proportionally, and due to low payout caps on gaming machines, hardcore gamblers would not be the ones using them.

And, he said, the machines do not offer much money to the owners of the establishments, and he doesn’t believe it’s enough to make the difference between keeping the doors open and closing them.

Additionally, he said, it is easier to walk back a “no” vote than a “yes” one, and the board could revisit this at a later date.

The ordinance in question bans gambling devices, defined as “any machine, instrument, device or thing used or operated, or which may be used or operated, for the purpose of gambling, or for playing any game of chance for money or any other article or thing of value.” While this is broad, it has been on the books since 1935, and enforcement is up to local discretion.

Village Attorney Karl Ottosen said it is his understanding that video gambling machines already in village establishments will have to be removed. But, he said, it is also his understanding that enforcing that removal would be up to the state of Illinois.