Video gambling on the rise in Illinois as local government cashes in

DESPITE being outlawed in the capital city of Chicago, video gambling has seen significant growth in the state of Illinois over the last three years, increasing by more than 75 per cent in that period.

The Illinois Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability delivered a report last week that showed video gambling had mustered a $1.4 billion total in net income, putting more than $70 million in local government coffers along the way.

There are 11,000 gaming machines across the state of Illinois, which is yet to join a growing list of states across the USA in legalising sports betting after the Supreme Court overturned The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), which outlawed the practice at a federal level.

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While the report said that the state and national lottery, horse racing and river gambling had remained ‘relatively stagnant’, the increase in video gambling was stark.

Given the level of demand for gambling throughout Illinois, could the state soon push for sports betting?

While there has been a number of Government representatives that have publicly come out in favour of new sports betting legislation, the state will be watching its neighbours closely in coming months to see how the new industry works where it has been freshly legalised.

We will continue to watch this space.

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