- Chicago is considering allowing slot-like video gaming terminals
- VGTs could threaten the city’s casino contract with Bally’s
- Chicago is facing a $1.5 billion budget deficit
Slot-like video gaming terminals (VGTs) are a step closer to being authorized in Chicago.
On Tuesday, the City of Chicago Committee on License and Consumer Protection voted 8-6 in favor of an ordinance that would allow certain businesses to pursue VGTs. Illinois’ VGT law allows businesses holding a valid liquor license to house between six and 10 gaming machines.
Small businesses can have up to six VGTs, while truck stops can have 10. All businesses must be at least 1,000 feet from a casino or racetrack.
Chicago has long banned VGTs, but with the Windy City continuing to face severe fiscal issues, including a budget deficit of $1.15 billion, some city lawmakers are motioning to legalize the gaming terminals.
Are we to just sit back and look down the barrel of a $1.5 billion deficit with nothing in sight, or are we to look for additional revenues that don’t affect everyone like property taxes, people driving down the street with tickets, being hit every other day?” asked Alderman Anthony Beale, who represents the 9th Ward. The Chicago Sun-Times first reported Ward’s comments.
“Are we going to turn a blind eye on $60 million to $100 million? Or are we going to be creative to do something a little different, something the city has never done before?” Beale questioned.
Mayor Opposition
A study commissioned by the city forecast that Chicago could receive more than $67.2 million annually from the legalization of VGTs. Illinois levies a 35% tax on VGT gross gaming revenue, with about one-sixth, or 5.8%, returned to the machine’s local government.
The VGT forecast doesn’t take into account any possible net loss in revenue to the city from other sources, mainly the Bally’s Casino. The temporary casino is operating at the Medinah Temple while the permanent $2 billion resort is being built at the former Freedom Center newspaper publishing plant.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, who was previously open to VGTs but now opposes their authorization, says the city doesn’t have a spending problem, though spending continues to increase with pension funding problems.
“We do not have a spending problem in Chicago. We have a revenue challenge in Chicago,” Johnson said this week.
Bally’s Contract
Bally’s was deemed the winner of Chicago’s downtown casino bidding in May 2022. The City Council picked Bally’s over pitches from Chicago-based Rush Street Gaming and Hard Rock International.
There are legal concerns that if Chicago authorizes VGTs, the city’s Host Community Agreement with Bally’s could be violated. The terms include assurances that the city won’t allow a second casino to open and won’t authorize any other “mode of lawful gaming” other than what is currently allowed.
Carl Gutierrez, vice president of government relations for the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, said VGTs would be a “clear violation” of the Bally’s contract and would “send a message” that the City of Chicago “is not a reliable partner.”
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