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Once again,Illinoisoperators are caught in the middle of legislative brinksmanship. Waiting for two years to start operating within the 2009 Video Game Act (VGA), they have been plagued by delays and changes.
Companies have already been approved to operate, distribute and manufacture games withinIllinois. But now, once again, Governor Pat Quinn is pressing for possible regulatory modifications.
In mid-November, by a 58 to 53 margin,Illinoislaw-makers failed to pass legislation that would have nullified Quinn’s plans for reform of the gambling laws. This eases the path for Quinn to expand casino gaming statewide. Regulation could also mandate a local opt-in requirement for video lottery terminals (VLTs), ban VLT operators from contributing to any politician (a provision which would probably apply to VLT owners in the amusements business too), and eliminate provisional video poker licences.
The original VGA permitted these types of temporary licensing approvals. Operators supported this language as a means of quickly entering the market before the long investigative process was completed.
However, the Illinois Gaming Board (IGB) rejected this option, citing the potential for licences being granted to applicants who had been involved in criminal activity, before they had been thoroughly investigated.
Operators became a pawn in a larger battle for control, with the battle lines drawn between legislators who want to select sites for five new casinos and Quinn, who is demanding the IGB pick the locations. Operators are caught in the middle because the entire programme is now on hold.
Also affectingCookCountyoperators inChicagoare the potential $1.3m in additional fees and taxes for 2012, if the new budget is passed. It calls for $225 annual licences for VLTs and prize vending machines. A fee of $150 will be charged for licences for jukeboxes, pool tables, amusement video games and other coin-op devices. Across the county, which has the largest population inIllinois, 10,000 machines would be affected.
