Chicago City Council Members Pushing for VGT Slots at Airports and Across the City

^{Local politicians looking for revenue are floating the idea of allowing slot machines at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. (Photo: D Guest Smith / Alamy)}

Two members of the Chicago City Council are arguing in favor of legalizing video gambling in the city, though they are facing pushback from the mayor’s office, which says the machines aren’t worth the effort.

On Wednesday, July 16, two separate ordinances were introduced at the final City Council meeting before the body adjourns for its August recess. 

Airport Slots Would Target Captive Audience

The first, introduced by Alderman Gilbert Villegas (36^th Ward), would allow only for the installation of video gambling machines behind security checkpoints at O’Hare and Midway airports. The second, proposed by Ald. Anthony Beale (9^th Ward) would legalize the machines more broadly across the city in bars and restaurants.

Villegas told the Chicago Sun-Times that putting electronic machines at airports would capture revenue from users who will never see the city’s casinos.

“This is a captive audience,” Villegas said, via the Sun-Times. “People are there, in some cases, one or two hours before. If their flight is delayed or they’re making a connection and there is a delay, there’s an opportunity to capture an audience that may not even be going to the city.”

The proposal from Villegas would charge a location license of $10,000 in addition to $500 per video gambling terminal (VGT), as well as a per-terminal license of $1,000 and $500 per VGT. The Sun-Times article noted that 400 VGTs could generate an estimated $116.8 million, with the city getting additional revenue via gambling taxes.

VGTs are virtually the same as slot machines, according to Illinois law. They play and appear just like slot machines, with the same random number generator, mechanics and payout experience. They can be smaller than machines found in casinos, have lower betting caps, and are regulated under a different framework. But functionally they are the same.

Beale: Citywide Terminals Would Generate Much-Needed Revenue

Beale’s proposal would go even further, offering location licenses citywide for $500 along with a $1,000 charge per VGT. 

“We need to do it citywide and at the airports,” Beale said. “We need the revenue and this administration has not shown a willingness to find new revenue that’s not gonna hit the taxpayers in every household.”

But Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office has argued that Chicago wouldn’t see much money even from the widespread adoption of VGTs across the city. While VGTs are legal under Illinois gaming law, the tax rate on casino slot machines is nearly four times higher than on the terminals. As such, Chicago Chief Financial Officer Jill Jaworski said in June that a consulting study found that VGT revenue would top out at $10 million annually, and might actually be a net negative if it took customers away from the Bally’s Chicago casino.

Beale has argued that the city should attempt to get the statewide tax rates on VGTs changed. He also pointed to the city’s $1.2 billion budget shortfall, saying that with federal support dwindling, it’s not time to turn down new revenue streams.

“It’s amazing how they want you to come up with revenue ideas and then they want to shoot down low-hanging fruit,” Beale said.

Villegas has argued that his proposal is a better start, as there will be less political wrangling to deal with if the VGTs are confined to the city’s airports.

That’s likely true, as any gambling expansion in the city is likely to run into opposition from Bally’s. Currently, the casino giant is operating a temporary casino out of Medinah Temple, which has become one of the most popular attractions in the city. The firm has also begun construction on a permanent facility that will be located at the former site of the Chicago Tribune press building in River West.