The Illinois Coin Machine Operators Association (ICMOA) has charged media bias, accusing newspapers of exaggerating stories of opt-outs while downplaying the approvals. Aurora and Rockford-Illinois’s second and third largest cities-voted down proposed ordinances banning VLTs, but few stories were published. Aurora is home to a riverboat casino and Rockford is the world headquarters of Arachnid.

As jurisdictions reject the program, it will have multiple repercussions. Using current figures, by year’s end, 30% of Illinois citizens will reside in jurisdictions where video gaming will remain illegal. It will compromise early projections for $500 million in annual VLT tax revenues.

The ICMOA strongly endorsed the Video Gaming Act of July 2009. Supporters projected up to 45,000 officially authorized operator-run video lottery terminal. Tax revenues would ease the state’s budget deficit.

Because the Act also permitted local cities and counties to reject the VLT program, jurisdictions would forfeit their share of tax revenues generated by VLT machines operated elsewhere in the state. Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, an early supporter is reconsidering his position. The size and influence of a Chicago, opt-out could destroy the new market statewide.

As a preemptive strike to discourage more withdrawals, some lawmakers proposed legislation that would mandate new taxes on communities that opt out as a way to compensate for projected lost revenues. Communities that fail to pay the tax would face confiscation of state funds allocated to local projects.

The Illinois Gaming Board (IGB) has barred any former gray-area poker operators from participating. The IGB rules bans any person convicted of a prior gambling-related offense from manufacturing or operating VLTs, or owning locations that host them. If the IGB accuses an individual of involvement in the gray market after December 16, 2009, he or she may also be excluded, regardless of a lack of formal charges or conviction. Investigations will be on a case-by-case basis, including situations where operators paid fines to settle charges of illegal gambling activity.

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