Video Gambling In Illinois Must Wait As Court Throws Out Law

Lawmakers in Illinois debated for a long time whether or not to legalize video gambling in the state. Now, it appears that debate will begin anew after a state appellate court threw out the law, claiming it violated the Constitution.

A 1st District appellate court unanimously agreed that the law that would have legalized video gambling, and create higher taxes on candy, liquor, and items such as toothpaste was unconstitutional. The Constitution in the state claims that a bill can only have one subject matter, and this law violated that prohibition.

"This is going to get tricky with the video gambling," said Gaming Analyst Steve Schwartz. "Because the first time around, not everyone was on board with the video gambling addition in that law. Now, having to start over, and with new legislators in office, it could be difficult to have that law pass."

Governor Pat Quinn was not sold on the decision that came on Wednesday. The governor claims that he will appeal the decision to the state Supreme Court. The state will be faced with severe budget problems if the law is denied, as millions of dollars in tax revenue would have been generated from the bill.

The next order of business for Governor Quinn is to ask the Supreme Court for a stay on the appellate court ruling until the higher court has an opportunity to rule on the issue. It could be months until the Supreme Court gets around to handling this case.

Despite the setback and the pending opposition, there appears to be enough support for the video gambling that if the current bill is deemed inappropriate, legislators would be able to create a new gambling law. Several lawmakers have come out with statements on Wednesday reiterating their commitment to making the video gambling expansion happen in the near future.

January 27, 2011
Posted By Tom Jones
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
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