Video slot machines in local venues spur gambling revenue windfall for Illinois

Video slot machines in local venues spur gambling revenue windfall for Illinois

Article brief provided by Bloomberg News
  • Shruti Singh, Bloomberg News
October 3, 2023 9:14 PM
  • Shruti Singh, Bloomberg News
  • Illinois

Gamblers are placing more and more bets on video slot machines than at Blackjack tables or horse race tracks in Illinois.

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The lottery is still the state’s biggest source of wagering revenue but video terminals in casinos, bars, restaurants and stores are poised to challenge that top spot, according to a report by the Illinois Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability, a bipartisan group that provides economic analysis for the state legislature.

Illinois’s tax collections from gaming climbed to a record of almost $2 billion in the year that ended June 30, according to data going back almost five decades. Video gaming currently represents about 41% of wagering revenue, while lottery makes up nearly 44%.