The Illinois Gaming Board (IGB) held its monthly meeting on Thursday, March 13, 2025. The meeting was hybrid with in-person accessibility at 160 N. LaSalle St., 5th Floor Auditorium and via livestream. Board members present at this meeting included Chairman Schmadeke, Member Hayden, Member Brannon and Member Ferrara.
Before we provide the synopsis of the brief meeting, we wanted to quickly remind licensees that it is still prohibited for locations to permit illegal gambling activities on their premises, including activities (such as brackets) related to the NCAA basketball tournament.
The meeting began with the approval of consideration of the minutes of the regular board meeting from Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025 and continued with the Administrator’s report.
Administrator's Report
As he has the last few years, the Administrator began his comments by acknowledging that March is Problem Gambling Awareness month. He reiterated the IGB’s commitment to the safety of Illinois gaming. He stated that the Department of Human Services will be partnering with others to ensure that resources are readily available to individuals in need. He also stated that downtown buildings will be lit teal in honor of Problem Gambling Awareness’s efforts and outlined resources available on the IGB’s website (Illinois Gaming Board - Help for Problem Gamblers) and Illinois Department of Human Services’ website (IDHS: Gambling Help (state.il.us). If you or anyone you know is having problems, we suggest taking advantage of these resources.
Relatedly, the Administrator reminded patrons to conduct business only with IGB-licensed providers, stating that unlicensed and illegal business lack controls and safety measures. These unlicensed providers include sweepstakes machines or illegal sports betting contests that are incorrectly advertised as legal sweepstake or skilled games. He further stated that the IGB supports Illinois House Bill 2879 Illinois General Assembly - Bill Status for HB2879 and Illinois Senate Bill 1705 Illinois General Assembly - Bill Status for SB1705.
The Administrator continued his comments with exciting news pertaining to the Ticket In, Ticket Out (TITO) implementation for the video gaming industry. Starting July 22, 2025, all video gaming terminals with TITO functionality will have features enabled for use. Prior to the implementation, all manufacturers will be able to submit materials and documents for testing and certification. Additionally, the Administration stated that terminal operator (TO) volunteers will be needed for a soft launch. He stated that details will be forthcoming during a biweekly central communication system regulatory call but that a TO’s participation or nonparticipation in the soft launch will not impact the implementation of the functionality at their locations. The Administrator stated that also forthcomingg this year are details pertaining cashless wagering technologies.
The Administrator took a brief moment to mention the IGB investigative records request (request) that TOs received this week related to sales agents. According to the Administrator’s comments, the IGB is closely monitoring the relationships between revenue share agreements, sales agents, locations and TOs. He also briefly reminded industry participants of the inducement rule and all other ethical conduct rules. If you have any questions on this matter or did not receive the Request, please reach out to us. A response is required even if you believe the matter is not applicable to your operations. The response is due April 18, 2025.
The Administrator also provided the industry revenue numbers. According to the Administrator, there are 16 casinos, 14 operational sports books, 58 terminal operators and 8,662 live video gaming locations offering approximately 48,826 video gaming terminals (VGTs). In January, VGTs generated approximately $83.5 million in taxes with the state’s share being approximately $71.2 million and the location municipalities receiving approximately $12.2 million. In February, casinos yielded roughly $26 million in tax revenue from casino activities with $18.3 million in taxes going to the state and $8.5 million to host communities. Lastly, the January total for sports wagering adjusted gross revenue generated a taxable amount of roughly $54 million with $52 million in taxes going to the state and approximately $1.5 million going to Cook County. The combined industries of video gaming, sports wagering and casino activity reported for January through March 2025 has generated approximately $181 million in taxes, with the state’s share being $158 million and local communities receiving $22 million. It should be noted that given reporting requirements, the total report includes January VGT data, February casino data and January sports wagering data. We expect to have a more complete picture in the April meeting.
The Administrator concluded his comments with a brief reminder of the reporting prohibitive conduction portal available on the IGB’s website: Report Prohibited Conduct. The Administrator stated that individuals should say something if they see something illegal, unethical, prohibitive or conduct that tends to discredit the industry.
Casino
The casino portion of this meeting began with the Board approving the following key persons and Level 1 occupational licenses:
- Lucile Marie Mueller Trust, Lucile Marie Mueller, and Scott William Christian as Key Persons for Hawthorne Race Course, Inc. d/b/a Hawthorne Casino & Race Course.
- Maeve Carey Mueller Trust, Maeve Carey Mueller, and Scott William Christian as Key Persons for Hawthorne Race Course, Inc. d/b/a Hawthorne Casino & Race Course.
- Matthew Aaron White for his role as Director of Information Technology for The Rock Island Boatworks, LLC d/b/a Bally’s Quad Cities Casino & Hotel.
The Board next approved the renewal of the supplier license of The United States Playing Card Company, granted initial occupational licenses to 190 Level 2 and Level 3 applicants, and issued notices of denial to five individuals.
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 like the casino portion with the approval of the following key persons related to Hawthorne Race Course, Inc. d/b/a Hawthorne Casino & Race Course:
- Lucile Marie Mueller Trust, Lucile Marie Mueller, and Scott William Christian as Key Persons of Hawthorne Race Course, Inc. d/b/a Hawthorne Casino & Race Course.
- Maeve Carey Mueller Trust, Maeve Carey Mueller, and Scott William Christian as Key Persons of Hawthorne Race Course, Inc. d/b/a Hawthorne Casino & Race Course.
The Board concluded this session with issuing 158 Level 2 occupational licenses and the Administrator granting renewals to the Level 1, 2 and 3 licensees that were up for renewal, had 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 38 terminal technician and terminal handler licenses and issued one notice of denial.
The meeting continued with the IGB approving 68 location applicants for licensure and issuing denials to OHIO FUEL & FOOD LLC d/b/a OHIO FUEL & FOOD LLC and Two Wheel Inn d/b/a 2 Wheel Inn. The Board next rescinded the previously issued nonrenewal of WILLIAM F. EARNEST, POST NO. 559 d/b/a: American Legion Post #559 and granted it a location license renewal retroactive to December 2024.
The Administrator then renewed the terminal handler, technician and location licensees that were up for renewal and had provided updated information to the IGB, timely paid their renewal fees and complied with all other requirements.
The meeting concluded with the Board issuing a final board order in the matter of 23-GB-011 In re: Denial of Dodona Gaming LLC, whereby they “mostly” adopted the Administrative Law Judge decision to uphold the denial of the TO license while drafting an amended proposed order that would provide clarifying language in an amended proposed order.
That concludes the summary of this month’s meeting. The next meeting will be held on Thursday, April 24, 2025.
May the luck of the Irish be with you!
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