Is the End Near for Sweepstakes Machines in Illinois?

SPRINGFIELD -- All around Illinois, small businesses and communities are reaping the rewards of video gaming: local entertainment creating local dollars. More than $1.5 billion has been generated in communities in every county of Illinois from video gaming.

But an unregulated market of sweepstakes machines is now raising questions from state lawmakers concerned about the impacts for Illinois, its communities and its small businesses.

As noted in this recent report from Capitol News Illinois, sweepstakes machines share many similarities to video gaming machines in how they look and operate. But they are not regulated or taxed as video gaming machines are. And WBEZ Public Radio in Chicago found last year, the machines can now be found in places where video gaming is barred.

Cory Aronovitz, a lawyer representing a segment of the sweepstakes market, said at a legislative hearing last week the companies he represents offer kiosks for “product promotion” where a player puts cash into the machine and then can win cash in a slots-like game. He emphasized they want to define what qualifies as a bona fide product and to prohibit bad actors in their marketplace.

But several legislators – including state Reps. Keith Wheeler and Bob Rita – pressed Aronovitz on who sweepstakes machines shouldn’t be regulated and taxed in the same way as video gaming machines, and questioned why the machines shouldn’t be banned altogether. Ivan Fernandez, executive director of the Illinois Gaming Machine Operators Association representing video gaming operators, said the sweepstakes machines make a “mockery of Illinois’ video gaming law” and are a return to the grey machines that existed before Illinois legalized video gaming 10 years ago.

Read more on the issue here: https://thesouthern.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/illinois-video-gambling-industry-don-t-raise-taxes-raise-the/article_ab794298-dcc1-57e0-8d10-2684fdbc70ba.html