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Following the legal decisions to allow the 2009 Video Gaming Act (VGA) to move forward, the Illinois Gaming Board (IGB) has begun to issue its first state manufacturing and distribution licences. Several venerable amusement Chicago-area manufacturers and distributors have applied for them, with plans to build or sell video lottery terminals as the new VLT market unfolds. Some have already received word that their applications have been accepted.
Incredible Technologies (IT) of Arlington Heights received two licences. The first allows IT to manufacture its Magic Touch Illinois Video Gaming Terminal (VGT). The second permits the distribution of its collection of video slot and poker games directly to licensed operators when the VGA takes effect. IT ultimately plans to build and sell more than 30 video slot and poker games within Illinois, including a slot machine version of its fabulously successful classic Golden Tee Golf.
Distributor licences have been awarded to:
• American Vending Sales (AVS) of Elk Grove Village, which represents VLTs manufactured by leading global slot manufacturer IGT. AVS was founded in Chicago in 1971, and is the pre-eminent full-service amusement and vending distributor in Illinois, covering the entire state.
• American Gaming & Electronics (AGE), a subsidiary of Wells Gardner Electronics, a publicly-traded company on the New York Stock Exchange. AGE sells parts and services to more than 700 North American casinos. Founded in 1925, Wells Gardner manufactures and distributed colour video monitors and related products for a variety of markets, including gaming machine manufacturers, casinos, arcade video game manufacturers and other display integrators.
• Suzo-Happ Group’s business division, Happ IL Distribution. This is its second gaming licence; it has held a supplier’s licence since 2007 for the state’s casinos under the Riverboat Gaming Act.
• Betson Enterprises, the largest worldwide distributor of coin-op equipment and a division of H. Betti Industries. Through its exclusive distributor agreement, Betson will represent WMS Gaming. The company will sell WMS Gaming’s latest video gaming terminals and associated components. Betson will also provide local parts and service specific to the Illinois gaming market.
Two IGB meetings – one public and the other private – were held in Chicago on 9 August. More than a dozen representatives from companies interested in manufacturing and distribution licences attended.
