The Illinois Gaming Board (IGB) held its monthly meeting, its last meeting of 2024, on Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. The meeting was hybrid with in-person accessibility for those who braved the cold at 160 N. LaSalle St., 5th Floor Auditorium and via livestream. Board members present at this meeting included Chairman Schmadeke, Member Hayden and Member Brannon.
The meeting began with the approval of the minutes of the regular board meeting from Oct. 24, 2024 and continued with the Administrator’s Report.
Administrator’s Report
The Administrator began his comments with a reminder that the next meeting will be Feb. 6, 2025 and that during that time he expects to make a full report regarding the operations, revenues, etc. of 2024.
The Administrator continued with a brief reminder to the video gaming industry of the public comment period that is closing Jan. 13, 2025 at 5 p.m. regarding proposed rules concerning 1) implementing a video gaming self-exclusion program and 2) implementing cashless technology into the video gaming market. As a reminder, comments may include issues/concerns/suggestions for developing and implementing the exclusion program and/or cashless technology. Comments can be submitted using the IGB’s online inquiry form, found here: Online Inquiry Form and choosing “Public Comments on IGB Rules” from drop-down options. Alternatively, feel free to reach out to us if you would like to coordinate your comments.
Next, the Administrator spoke briefly about the recent Joint Committee of Administrative Rules’ (JCAR) meeting on Dec. 10, 2024 in which JCAR adopted new casino rules pertaining to chip denominations and ticket in/ticket out (also known as TITO) technology. The rules are not yet published on the Illinois General Assembly’s Administrative Code website, however, they are located on the IGB’s website under Proposed Rules here: Laws & Regulations.
The Administrator also briefly reminded individuals to only patronize legal and licensed gambling/sports wagering providers and avoid unlicensed, unregulated gray or black-market operators.
The Administrator concluded his comments with providing the industry revenue numbers. According to the Administrator, there are 8,665 live video gaming locations offering approximately 48,728 video gaming terminals (VGTs). In November, these VGTs generated $89 million in taxes with the state’s share being approximately $76 million and the location municipalities receiving approximately $13 million. November also yielded $48 million in tax revenue from casino activities with $38 million in taxes going to the state and $9 million to host communities. Lastly, the total sports wagering adjusted gross revenue (AGR) generated a taxable amount of $24 million with $24 million in taxes going to the state and approximately $1 million going to Cook County. To date for 2024, the combined industries of video gaming, sports wagering and casino activity has generated over $1.5 billion in taxes, with the state’s share being $1.2 billion and local communities receiving $235 million.
Administrative Matters
The meeting continued with the Administrator tabling the approval of amendment to Rule 1900.1130 to include certain prohibitive wagers as requested by the National Football League (NFL). Although the final approval was tabled, the Administrator stated that the current temporary suspension of the wagering on injuries, officiating related outcomes, player conduct and pre-determined events in any NFL game remains in place. The Administrator’s complete comments regarding the temporary rule can heard on the audio recording of the previous meeting (Past Meetings) and the NFL’s comments can be found under the Additional News section of the IGB’s website: igb-sw-1130-nfl.pdf.
Casino
The casino portion of this meeting began with the Request for Initial Consideration of Owner’s License Renewal of Southern Illinois Riverboat/Casino Cruises LLC d/b/a Harrah’s Metropolis Casino. This item does not require Board action and will likely be up for final consideration at the next meeting.
Next, the Board granted an owner’s license to Wind Creek IL LLC d/b/a Wind Creek Chicago Southland Casino.
The meeting continued with the Board approving the following Key Persons and Level 1 Occupational Licenses:
- James Franklin Dorris, Jr. – Wind Creek IL LLC d/b/a Wind Creek Chicago Southland Casino
- Lisa Carol Kannair – The Rock Island Boatworks, LLC d/b/a Bally’s Quad Cities Casino & Hotel– Senior Internal Auditor
- Brandi Jo Harvey – The Rock Island Boatworks, LLC d/b/a Bally’s Quad Cities Casino & Hotel – Senior Internal Auditor
The Board next approved the initial occupational licenses of 257 Level 2 and Level 3 applicants and issued three notices of denial.
The Administrator then issued renewals to all occupational licensees that were up for renewal and had provided updated information, timely paid their renewal fees, and complied with all other requirements.
Sports Wagering
The sports wagering portion of the meeting began with the Administrator granting a master sports wagering license to Walker’s Bluff Casino Resort, LLC and the Board approving the management services provider license of Hillside (Illinois) LLC d/b/a bet365, the supplier license of Hillside (Sports) MP Limited d/b/a bet365, and the supplier license of Hillside (Technology) Limited d/b/a bet365.
The Board then issued 214 Level 2 occupational licenses and the Administrator granted renewals to the Level 1, 2, and 3 licensees that were up for renewal, provided updated information to the IGB, timely paid their renewal fees and complied with all other requirements.
Video Gaming
The video gaming portion of the meeting began with the Board granting initial terminal operator licenses to 1) Blue Ridge Gaming LLC, 2) Chicagoland Gaming Inc. and 3) Ella Gaming LLC.
The Board next granted five terminal technician licenses and 71 terminal handler licenses.
The Administrator then renewed the terminal handler, technician and location licensees that were up for renewal and provided updated information to the IGB, timely paid their renewal fees and complied with all other requirements. Next, the Administrator issued two notices of non-renewals to two technicians/handlers and the following two locations: 1) WILLIAM F. EARNEST, POST NO. 559 d/b/a: American Legion Post #559 and 2) Tavern on LaGrange Corp. d/b/a: Tavern on La Grange.
The meeting continued with the IGB approving 81 location applicants for licensure and issuing denials to following three establishments:
- MI NUEVO LEON, LLC d/b/a: MI NUEVO LEON
- New Market Group, LLC d/b/a: Tom's Market
- THE 143 HIDEOUT LLC d/b/a: THE 143 HIDEOUT LLC
- Venice Neighborhood Market LLC d/b/a: Venice Neighborhood Market.
The Board next denied the hearing request Knox Investments, Inc. d/b/a The Pony for failing to prove a prima facie case. Also discussed during this portion of the meeting was the request for leave to reapply within one calendar year of Gammon Coach House LLC d/b/a Gammon Coach House (Gammon). Relatedly, the denial of the hearing request of this location issued in October 2024 was rescinded and Gammon was granted leave to file supplemental hearing request.
That concludes the summary of this month’s meeting. The next meeting will be held on Feb. 6, 2025.
Happy holidays to you and your families! Cheers to 2025!
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