Are Slot Machines Legal In Chicago

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A new Chicago casino feasibility study projects that installing 500 slot machines at O’Hare and Midway airports could rake in $37 million annually. That is more than the amount generated at Las Vegas’ McCarran International Airport, which has almost triple the number of slots.

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Union Gaming Analytics, a boutique investment bank and advisory firm that carried out the study, worked on the assumption that each Chicago terminal slot could bring in $200 per day. This would bring the annual gross revenue from the suggested 500 machines to about $36.5 million.

The study says that given the Chicago metro area is already well penetrated, in terms of gaming positions, a casino within the City of Chicago is unlikely to need all 4,000 slot machines to achieve optimal revenues.

“As such, greater total revenues and taxes would be achieved by [allocating] a few hundred slot machines to Midway and O’Hare airports,” the study says.

Outperforming Las Vegas Airports

In drawing up revenue assumptions, Union Gaming Analytics studied airports in Nevada, the only comparable market with slot machines within the airport. Nevada’s two largest airports, McCarran in Las Vegas and Reno Tahoe, currently operate 1,475 and 240 slots, respectively, or approximately one slot machine per 15,700 arriving passengers, Union Gaming Analytics’ study says.

The researchers said Nevada provided a proxy for the potential performance of slot machines at Midway and O’Hare. The study then says it is expected that slot machines at airports in Chicago would be used similarly to those in Nevada, namely as an option for some travelers to pass time.

Ultimately, the study concluded, slot machines at Chicago airports should perform notably better than those in Nevada’s airports.

Union Gaming Analytics said they expected slot machines to perform better in Chicago than in Nevada because in the latter, there was low utilization of slot machines which led to low revenues. This was because visitors to Las Vegas would rather play at a full-fledged casino with more attractive gaming options than at the airport.

The report further postulates that departing passengers from Las Vegas would typically have already exhausted their gaming budgets, and local residents using the airport have more convenient gaming options available to them.

To buttress the above points, the study found that revenue from slot machines at the Nevada airports generated revenue well below the state’s average of $151 taken from gamblers daily at each machine.

“With respect to Chicago, slot machines at airports should hold greater appeal to these same three categories, especially when contemplating departing and/or connecting passengers – both domestic and international – as they are a captive audience,” the study said.

O’Hare was ranked as the nation’s busiest airport in 2018. The Chicago Sun Times reported that nearly 40 million commercial travelers passed through O’Hare in 2018, compared to 23.7 million at McCarran and 2 million at Reno-Tahoe. Nearly 10.7 million people flew to or from Midway.

Having slot machines at the airports is quite a tantalizing prospect, with Michael Wenz, an economics professor at Northeastern Illinois University, being quoted by Casino.org saying “airport slot machines seem like a very well-targeted way to raise gambling tax revenue.”

Wenz added that many of the punters will be non-residents, “and relative to a casino or the small slot machine parlors, it isn’t likely that the airport will increase the incidence of problem gaming. There is a possibility that this will cannibalize some of the other revenues from the airport, but the net effect on tax revenues should be very positive in any case.”

Casino could be onerous from tax perspective

Although this may be good news for punters in Chicago, the Union Gaming Analytics report also has some bad news. The report says a casino in Chicago may not be as financially feasible as initially estimated.

The gaming expansion legislation that allows for a casino in the City of Chicago is “very onerous

from a tax and fee perspective”, the report said.

The study further says Illinois law, which allows for massive gambling expansion, features the highest effective gaming tax and fee structure in the country. The legislation, therefore, makes it difficult to finance a Chicago casino and generate profits.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has since said they would re-examine the 72 percent effective tax rate.

Lightfoot said the study confirmed concerns about the tax structure passed by the legislature, but was optimistic this could be addressed.

“We look forward to working with the governor and legislative leaders to revise the legislation and ensure a new casino will be beneficial for Chicago’s communities and the entire state,” Lightfoot said in a statement following the release of the feasibility study.
The City of Chicago hopes a casino will help generate revenue to pay for the underfunded police and firefighter pension systems. The City of Chicago also forecasts that a Chicago casino will create thousands of jobs as well as contracting opportunities for the community.

Gaming capital of the Midwest

Earlier this year, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker approved a new law that increased the number of state-sponsored gambling “positions” — seats to place a bet inside a casino, bar or racetrack — from almost 44,000 to nearly 80,000. It is projected that within two years, Illinois could have more than 7,000 video gambling establishments, 5,000 lottery-like sports betting kiosk locations, 16 casinos, five racinos and online sports gambling accessible on millions of mobile phones.

The new law allows for video slot and poker machines at Chicago’s airports, O’Hare and Midway.

With the law expanding gambling in Illinois, the state is on its way to being the gambling capital of the Midwest.

The state has set aside $6.8 billion in this year’s budget to help residents cope with gambling addiction. This is a 750 percent jump from the $800,000 that Illinois had regularly set aside to help people with gambling addictions, Healthcare Weekly reported.

Previously, Illinois faced criticism that it was not doing enough to help people with gambling addictions.

Introduction to Illinois Slot Machine Casino Gambling in 2019

Illinois slot machine casino gambling consists of ten riverboat casinos, the second U.S. state to offer them, as well as video gaming terminals (VLTs) in small businesses approved by local governments.

Illinois’ riverboat casinos have both minimum and maximum payout limits and monthly return statistics publicly available.

This post continues my weekly State-By-State Slot Machine Casino Gambling Series, an online resource dedicated to guiding slot machine casino gambler to success. Now in its third year, each weekly post reviews slots gambling in a single U.S. state, territory, or federal district.

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Relevant Legal Statutes on Gambling in Illinois*

The minimum legal gambling age in illinois does not depend upon the gambling activity:

Casinos: 21
Poker Rooms: 21
Bingo: 18
Lottery: 18
Pari-Mutuel Wagering: 18

The Illinois Riverboat Gambling Act enacted in February 1990 legalized riverboat gambling on open water outside of Cook County. This restriction protected wagering on horseracing in the Chicago area, approved in 1927.

Since 1990, Illinois has offered only ten gaming licenses for riverboat casinos. Originally, riverboat casinos in Illinois had to cruise, but a new state law in 1999 allowed permanent docking.

Each riverboat is legally authorized to have up to a total of 1,200 gaming machines including positions available at table games. The Illinois Gaming Board assumes each craps table offers ten positions while all other table games and keno offer only five gaming positions.

In 2005, the Illinois state legislature established an admissions tax of $2 or $3. Admission is $2 at Jumer’s Casino Rock Island and $3 at all the other riverboat casinos. Illinois riverboat casinos also has restricted hours of operation, closing for two hours each day, usually around 6 a.m. to 8 a.m.

In 2009, the Illinois state legislature passed the Video Gaming Act, allowing video gaming terminals in “Licensed Retail Establishments, Truck Stops, Veteran and Fraternal Establishments.”

The Act also offered local municipalities the ability to opt-out of hosting these video gaming terminal locations. Nevertheless, it took until 2012 for the Illinois Gaming Board to provide mass approvals for these video gaming licenses to many license applicants.

The Illinois Gaming Board hosts a website with extensive and thoroughly detailed descriptions of its state gambling laws for Casino Gambling and Video Gaming.

*The purpose of this section is to inform the public of state gambling laws and how the laws might apply to various forms of gaming. It is not legal advice.

Slot Machine Private Ownership in Illinois

In Illinois, it is legal to own a slot machine privately if manufactured 25 or more years ago.

Gaming Control Board in Illinois

The Illinois Gaming Board provides gaming regulations and tax collection for slot machine gambling activities in Illinois. It also has gaming control commissions for other forms of gambling including the Illinois Lottery and the Illinois Racing Board.

Further, the Illinois Casino Gaming Association (ICGA) represents nine of the ten riverboat casinos. The ICGA provides statistics on charitable giving by the riverboat casinos as well as supporting responsible gaming.

Casinos in Illinois

There are ten riverboat casinos in Illinois.

The largest casino in Illinois is Hollywood Casino Joliet with 1,177 gaming machines, 20 table games, and five poker tables.

The second-largest casino is Par-A-Dice Hotel Casino with 1,172 gaming machines, 21 table games, and five poker tables.

Commercial Casinos in Illinois

The ten riverboat casinos in Illinois are:

Argosy’s Alton Belle Casino located 158 miles south of Peoria and across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, Missouri.
Casino Queen in East St. Louis located 165 miles south of Peoria and across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, Missouri.
Grand Victoria Casino Elgin located 42 miles west of downtown Chicago.
Harrah’s Joliet located 45 miles southwest of downtown Chicago.
Harrah’s Metropolis located in the southernmost tip of Illinois or 167 miles southeast of St. Louis, Missouri.
Hollywood Casino Aurora located 42 miles west of downtown Chicago.
Hollywood Casino Joliet located 45 miles southwest of downtown Chicago.
Jumer’s Casino & Hotel in Rock Island located 101 miles northwest of Peoria on the Mississippi River border to Iowa.
Par-A-Dice Casino in East Peoria located three miles northwest of Peoria.
Rivers Casino in Des Plaines located 20 miles northwest of downtown Chicago.

In November 2019, 7,149 retail locations in Illinois offered video lottery terminals. In total, there are 33,019 active VLT gaming machines. Given riverboat casinos have at most 1,200 slot machines each, VLTs at local businesses equate to nearly 30 casinos of a similar size.

Tribal Casinos in Illinois

Illinois has no federally-recognized American Indian tribes. Therefore, there are no tribal casinos in Illinois.

Other Gambling Establishments

As an alternative to enjoying Illinois slot machine casino gambling, consider exploring casino options in a nearby state. Bordering Illinois is:

North: Wisconsin Slots
East: Indiana Slots
Southeast: Kentucky Slots
West: Iowa Slots and Missouri Slots

Each of the links above will take you to my blog for that neighboring U.S. state to Illinois.

Our Illinois Slots Facebook Group

Are you interested in sharing and learning with other slots enthusiasts in Illinois? If so, join our new Illinois slots community on Facebook. All you’ll need is a Facebook profile to join this closed Facebook Group freely.

There, you’ll be able to privately share your slots experiences as well as chat with players about slots gambling in Illinois. Join us!

Payout Returns in Illinois

Illinois has established payout limits of 80% and 100% over the lifetime of a slot machine. Further, the Illinois Gaming Board provides monthly return statistics for Casino Gaming as well as for Video Gaming.

The November 2019 report on return statistics for the month of October at the ten riverboat casinos of Illinois include the following Player Win%:

Argosy’s Alton Belle Casino: 90.94%
Casino Queen: 91.57%
Grand Victoria Casino Elgin: 90.97%
Harrah’s Joliet: 92.24%
Harrah’s Metropolis: 89.17%
Hollywood Casino Aurora: 90.14%
Hollywood Casino Joliet: 91.15%
Jumer’s Casino & Hotel: 90.18%
Par-A-Dice Casino: 91.06%
Rivers Casino: 90.47%

Obtain player win percentages from the report by subtracting the entry for Electronic Gaming Device Adjusted Gross Return Percentage (EGD AGR %) from 100%.

In the month of October 2019, the statewide player win percentage was 90.91%. The highest payout return was Harrah’s Joliet at 92.24% while the lowest was Harrah’s Metropolis at 89.17%

For VLTs, the statewide player win percentage was 91.7%. Detailed monthly reports at Video Gaming Revenue Reports offer the player win percentage at each of the more than 7,000 retail businesses with VLTs. To determine the win percentage for where you play VLTs, divide Amount Won by Amount Played in the VGT Wagering Activity section.

Summary of Illinois Slot Machine Casino Gambling in 2019

Illinois slot machine casino gambling consists of ten riverboat casinos and VLT electronic gaming machines at 7,149 local businesses such as bars, restaurants, and other licensed non-casino locations.

Minimum and maximum legal limits for slot machines are 80% and 100%, respectively, over the lifetime of the game. Further, monthly return statistics are publicly available.

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Annual Progress in Illinois Slot Machine Casino Gambling

In November 2019, there were 7,149 VLT locations with a total of 33,019 VLTs, a 12.4% increase in locations and a 16.7% increase in terminals from the previous year. Annual income tax revenue from gaming increased by nearly 17%. This tax income increase included a share of $83M for local municipalities which offer video gaming.

Up to six new casinos may come to the Chicago area, including a Hard Rock Casino in the city of Rockford. Submitted casino proposals arrived at the Illinois Gaming Board in October 2019.