Nearly a century ago, serial robber Willie Sutton reportedly explained why he was sticking up banks by saying wryly: “Because that’s where the money is.”
These days, crooks in the Chicago area seem to be centering on a new source of cash: establishments offering video gambling. The Illinois Gaming Board recently confirmed what many in the industry already knew: 2025 saw an explosion of crime, with more than $2.7 million stolen during 473 burglaries at those types of businesses last year.
Nearly half of those burglaries — 219 — occurred between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31.
There have been at least 40 since Jan. 1.
“There’s never been this volume and this audacity,” said a businessman who operates multiple video gambling sites that have collectively experienced eight burglaries since October.
