{"id":892115,"date":"2026-06-25T16:16:23","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T16:16:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/892115\/"},"modified":"2026-06-25T16:16:23","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T16:16:23","slug":"is-chicago-ever-getting-video-gambling-machines-bars-wait-for-answers-as-city-council-spars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/892115\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Chicago Ever Getting Video Gambling Machines? Bars Wait For Answers As City Council Spars"},"content":{"rendered":"

CHICAGO \u2014 Six months after video gambling terminals were legalized in the 2026 budget, Chicago\u2019s City Council is still debating whether the controversial machines should be allowed to operate in the city.<\/p>\n

A Wednesday meeting of the council\u2019s workforce development committee turned heated before ending abruptly, preventing any further discussion on a proposed amendment banning the machines.<\/p>\n

RELATED: Addicted To Gambling In Illinois: \u2018Someone Has Decided They Can Make Money Off You\u2019<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Backers of the terminals argued that they provide a much-needed revenue source for Chicago\u2019s struggling bars and restaurants.\u00a0Meanwhile, those who want to see them gone say they run afoul of a city agreement over Bally\u2019s River West casino project. They also argue that Chicago isn\u2019t prepared for heightened burglary risks for businesses with the machines.<\/p>\n

\"\"A Sweepstakes machine as seen at Firewater Saloon on June 15, 2026. Credit: Molly DeVore\/ Block Club Chicago<\/p>\n

Yet the packed hearing ended hastily when Ald. Anthony Beale (9th)\u00a0motioned to adjourn, complaining that the hearing should have been held in the city\u2019s licensing committee, not in the workforce development committee. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis committee does not have jurisdiction over this particular item. We\u2019re not talking about workforce, we\u2019re talking about video gaming terminals. Period,\u201d said Beale, who is strongly in favor of the video gambling terminals.<\/p>\n

While Wednesday\u2019s adjournment halted the latest effort to ban video gambling machines, it laid bare a still-simmering conflict over how Chicago regulates gambling in the 21st century. <\/p>\n

While some Chicago businesses have been issued licenses to operate gambling machines by the state, the city has refused to follow suit \u2014 leaving the businesses in limbo. <\/p>\n

\"\"Workers return to work after the topping out ceremony for the Bally\u2019s Chicago Casino, 560 W. Grand Ave., in West Town on April 30, 2026. Credit: Colin Boyle\/Block Club Chicago<\/p>\n

Bally\u2019s Vs. Video Gambling Terminals<\/p>\n

First legalized in 2009, video gambling terminals started operating in Illinois in 2012. The state is now home to the the largest regulated video gaming network in the world, with approximately 49,000 of the machines in operation, according to the Illinois Gaming Board.<\/a><\/p>\n

Chicago opted out of the terminals for years until late last year when council members trying to avoid Mayor Brandon Johnson\u2019s proposed corporate head tax assembled an alternative<\/a> 2026 budget<\/a> that legalized the machines to help fill the budget gap.<\/p>\n

Yet representatives with Bally\u2019s have argued legalizing video gambling terminals breaches an agreement the casino reached with the city. In December, Bally\u2019s CFO Jill Jaworski said Chicago would lose a $4 million community benefits payment from Bally\u2019s if video gambling terminals are allowed in the city.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, Christopher Jewett, Bally\u2019s vice president for Corporate Development, said legalized video gambling terminals \u201cwill hurt the city\u2019s finances for years to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHad we known that within just a few years, this body would reverse course and allow an alternative form of gaming that breaches the agreement, we would never have agreed to the numerous commitments, all of which we\u2019ve held up,\u201d Jewett said. \u201cI can assure you that other corporations around the country and world are watching the treatment of our relationship and will take note when determining to bring businesses and jobs here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jewett said that under the \u201cworst-case scenario,\u201d legalized terminals could result in the loss of more than a third of the 3,000 permanent jobs Bally\u2019s plans on bringing to the city. He also said that since the machines first became operational in 2012, Illinois casinos have suffered a 37 percent reduction in gaming revenue.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When asked if Bally\u2019s was considering taking legal action against the city, Jewett said, \u201cWe\u2019ve made it very clear that we plan to use all legal weapons available.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Bally\u2019s Senior Vice President for Corporate Development Christopher Jewett speaks to press about video gaming terminals after a June 24, 2026 workforce development committee meeting. Credit: Molly DeVore\/ Block Club Chicago<\/p>\n

Pat Doerr, managing director at Hospitality Business Association of Chicago, called Bally\u2019s claim that video gambling terminals would hurt the casino\u2019s bottom line \u201chogwash\u201d during the Wednesday meeting. He said casinos across Illinois are surrounded by businesses with such machines yet still stay afloat.<\/p>\n

Video gambling machines don\u2019t threaten \u201cwell-run\u201d casinos, he said. Instead, Doerr said Chicago had a \u201cstagnant-to-sinking hospitality industry\u201d because it has had to compete with suburbs that allow the machines.<\/p>\n

Public Safety Questions<\/p>\n

Ald. Matt O\u2019Shea (19th) told Block Club video gambling terminals could be a \u201creal shot in the arm\u201d for Chicago\u2019s bars and restaurants. Four businesses in the 19th Ward were approved for licensing on June 11: Bar 106, Lawlor\u2019s Bar and Hippo\u2019s Bar in Mount Greenwood and Cork and Kerry in Beverly. Two other Chicago businesses were also approved: Half Sour in the Loop and Eggsperience in Lakeview.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Over 280 Chicago businesses have pending applications with the Illinois Gaming Board, with a dozen in the 19th Ward. O\u2019Shea said his businesses struggle being on the border with the suburbs, including Oak Lawn.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOur small businesses compete against neighboring suburbs that have programs that benefit them,\u201d O\u2019Shea said. \u201cBars and restaurants in neighboring Evergreen Park and Oak Lawn benefit from video gaming terminals. On the other hand, this brings a very, very serious public safety issue.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Video gaming burglaries in Illinois have increased every year for five years, according to data from the Illinois Gaming Board. Burglaries have risen from 306 in 2021 to 473 in 2025. There have already been more than 470 burglaries across the state in the first six months of 2026.<\/p>\n

Bill Guide, owner of Cork and Kerry at 10614 S. Western Ave., said his business is losing customers to the suburbs where video gaming is offered. He hopes the terminals will provide financial relief to the city and to local businesses.<\/p>\n

\"\"A Sweepstakes machine as seen at Firewater Saloon on June 15, 2026. Credit: Molly DeVore\/ Block Club Chicago<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the benefits will far outweigh any headaches that may come along with it,\u201d Guide said.<\/p>\n

Guide said the terminal operator his business plans to work with has a decade of experience and works closely with security firms to provide safety measures.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are definitely on top of it. They know it is an issue, but they are doing everything they can to prevent it with be it cameras or alarms. I know they are exploring a lot of other options that will hopefully prevent it,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

CB LeFils, owner of Hippo\u2019s Bar at 3011 W. 111th St., said he plans to take extra security measures to deter crime. His business\u2019s ATM was targeted in a break-in a few months ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cWill the video gaming increase that? I don\u2019t know, but the crime is already here. It needs to be deterred. \u2026 We will take every precautionary method we need to for safety,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Oak Lawn, which borders Mount Greenwood, has had 15 burglaries targeting video gambling terminals this year, according to data from the Illinois Gaming Board.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are high-speed pursuits, they\u2019re flying all over, someone\u2019s gonna get killed,\u201d Oak Lawn Village Manager Thomas Phelan said during an April Board of Trustees meeting<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Oak Lawn bar Reilly\u2019s Daughter has had video gaming terminals since 2016. Bar owner Brendan O\u2019Brien said his business has not had any issues with the terminals being targeted, though it is a concern.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think about it constantly. \u2026 It\u2019s a scary thing. It\u2019s happening more and more often,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Brien said the terminals have become a good supplement to his business\u2019s revenue and could help other bars in the nearby Beverly and Mount Greenwood neighborhoods.<\/p>\n

Terminals in Oak Lawn generated $25.9 million in 2025, with Oak Lawn\u2019s tax share on the terminals being $1,297,656, according to the Illinois Gaming Board.<\/p>\n

In a statement to Block Club, Accel Entertainment, a terminal operator that works with over 2,700 establishments in Illinois \u2014 including Cork and Kerry, Lawlor\u2019s and Bar 106 \u2014 said the company will work with Chicago businesses to implement security measures such as systems that emit a non-toxic fog while alerting law enforcement.<\/p>\n

\"\"Ald. Nicholas Sposato (38th) speaks to press about video gaming terminals after a June 24, 2026 workforce development committee meeting. Credit: Molly DeVore\/ Block Club Chicago<\/p>\n

Ald. Nick Sposato (38th), whose Far Northwest Side ward is also bordered by suburbs, said he supports video gambling, but he would like to see extra safety precautions and more regulations on the city\u2019s existing \u201csweepstakes\u201d gambling machines<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Sweepstakes machines have been in Chicago for years, operating through a loophole in the 2009 Video Gaming Act. <\/p>\n

Under pre-2019 state law, sweepstakes machines were permitted to give out exchangeable coupons or non-cash prizes to users. In 2019, sweepstakes machines were banned in the state. But because of Chicago\u2019s home rule status that also exempted the city from Illinois law regulating legal video gaming terminals, roughly 7,000 sweepstakes machines have continued to exist within a legal gray area.<\/p>\n

Last week, Beale attempted to push through an ordinance that would ban the unregulated sweepstake machines, but the measure failed. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a circus,\u201d Beale said Wednesday. \u201cYou have a city that won\u2019t shut down illegal sweepstakes machines, but then you have a legal avenue that\u2019s approved by the Illinois Gaming Board, and we want to shut that down on the grounds that it\u2019s going to hurt Bally\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ald. Michael Rodriguez (22nd), chair of the workforce development committee, said he thought the committee was able to have a productive discussion despite the meeting being cut short.<\/p>\n

Rodriguez said that, as of now, there are no plans to try to hold a vote on the ordinance banning video gambling machines out of his committee.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CHICAGO \u2014 Six months after video gambling terminals were legalized in the 2026 budget, Chicago\u2019s City Council is…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":892116,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5124],"tags":[960,1322,5386,1818,47501],"class_list":["post-892115","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-chicago","tag-chicago","tag-featured","tag-il","tag-illinois","tag-locked"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116811649537442458","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/892115","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=892115"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/892115\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/892116"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=892115"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=892115"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=892115"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}