Cities And Towns In Illinois Turning Away Video Gambling

Legislators in the state of Illinois decided earlier this year that it should be up to individual cities and towns to decide the fate of video gambling in their own jurisdictions. In order for that to happen, Governor Pat Quinn signed legislation legalizing the machines.

In the months since signing the legislation, however, Quinn and other lawmakers are learning that many towns and cities do not want the machines or the revenue that they could generate. There is a growing list of towns that have banned the machines.

As part of the legislation, cities and towns had the right to ban the machines if they wished. Voters could also have their say in the issue if they could get a referendum placed on the ballot concerning video gambling machines. So far, no votes have been necessary outside of City Council's.

"Lawmakers just naturally assumed that everyone in the state would embrace the idea of video gambling as a way to help pay for a public works program," sys CGW Business Analyst Grant Davis, "But what these lawmakers are learning is that not as many people as they thought would be in favor of expanded gambling."

Evanston, on Monday, became the first major city to turn away video gambling machines. The City Council voted 9-0 in favor of banning the machines. A couple of the members of the council were actually intrigued by the idea of the video gambling, but voted against the machines nonetheless.

Most votes against the machines around the state of Illinois are coming from people who do not believe the financial benefits will be worth the trouble of policing the machines. Even with all of the bans, there will still be many cities and towns that will have the machines up and running soon.

September 16, 2009
Posted By April Gardner
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
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