Illinois lawmakers are trying to come to grips with the law of intended consequences.
It was pretty clear that the presence of video gambling in Illinois would grow dramatically after legislators approved a bill legalizing it in 2009.
That, after all, was the point. Legislators wanted to clean out the ostensibly illegal video gambling taking place in bars and service organizations and not producing any tax revenue and replace it with legal, highly taxed video gambling. The result is obvious for all to see – nearly 19,000 terminals in operation at more than 4,500 businesses across the state.
The law authorized any business holding a liquor license to put three to five video gambling machines in operation. In other words, if a business wants to put video machines in place, all that’s necessary is to acquire a liquor license. As a consequence, businesses that wanted in on the gold rush started applying for liquor licenses.
Does that surprise anyone? Actually, it does.
Some legislators who advocated the spread of video gambling claimed to be shocked – shocked – by the spread of video gambling.
“It was never our intention to turn florist’s shops into places for gambling,” said state Rep. Lou Lang, a Skokie Democrat.
Lang is referring to just one of a number of business owners who looked at the law and decided to take advantage of its provisions, including an equestrian center, an apartment complex and a string of quasi-restaurants. These places are actually gambling dens designed to appeal solely to women.
And the deluge continues.
It’s always interesting what legislators say they intended. For starters, Lang is just one of 118 members of the Illinois House, so what he personally wants the law to be is essentially irrelevant.
Legislative intent is determined by statutory language and, in this case, the law’s language could not be more clear.
If you want gambling machines, first acquire a liquor license.
Did legislators think businesses not currently holding a liquor license would ignore the option of acquiring one even though huge financial stakes are in play? Did they even read – with comprehension – the legislation they passed? Did they really not know what they were doing? Or are they now falsely playing the moral outrage card?
Critics of the legislation contended that its provisions would make video gambling available on every street corner in Illinois. It hasn’t gone that far yet, but give it a little more time.
Gambling has a natural appeal with people who like the allure of getting something for nothing as well as legislators who view it as the all-purpose solution to funding government.
That’s why Illinois has horse race betting, casino gambling, video gambling and legislators face constant requests for more, more and more of the same.
But there’s a limit to how much money people have to gamble. That’s why the owners of casinos already in business don’t want new ones to open, particularly in Chicago. That’s why casino operators are complaining that video gambling in some dive in Champaign is cutting down on the number of customers they host at casinos in Peoria or East St. Louis or Joliet.
So legislators like Lang now say they’re going to have to take another look at video gambling and determine if further regulation is in order. That’s sure to attract bucklet-loads of campaign donations from the well-heeled gambling interests that want either more or less than what’s already available.
The Associated Press recently reported that more than $3 billion has been wagered on video gambling machines since they were legalized in Illinois. That’s $3 billion not spent in other economic endeavors, producing more than $200 million in state revenues and an additional $40 million-plus for local governments.
Legislators like Lang confess to be surprised, even angry. If that’s really true, what’s their excuse for being stunned by a shocking glimpse of the obvious.
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press.
