Video gambling grows in Illinois
A new report revealed that Springfield leads the state with an increasing number of 635 video gambling terminals.
US.- The Illinois Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability released an annual wagering report that revealed that Springfield is leading the state when it comes to terminal numbers and revenue.
The report established that Illinois collected US$300 million in tax revenues from 26.873 machines for the fiscal year ended June 30. Video gambling terminals numbers have been growing annually ever since the state legalised the activity in September 2012, period in which the fifth most populous state in the US featured 61 machines. That number increased to more than 27.000 by the end of July and is projected to reach 28.000 by mid 2018.
Eric Noggle, commission senior revenue analyst, said that the number of new terminals has slowed, and it doesn’t seem like they’ve reached their peak. On average, Illinois reports 249 new terminals every month in the last fiscal, compares to 263 monthly new ones in the previous fiscal year and 838 during the first two years of the legalised industry. Noggle believes that one of the reasons is that growth has spread all across the state.
Video gaming state revenue raked in US$255.2 million from 23.891 terminals during the 2015-2016 fiscal, whilst local government revenue from gambling terminals totaled US$60.1 million, almost a US#10 million increase from the previous year. Revenue from all gambling modalities totaled US$1.3 billion a 7.9 percent increase year-on-year.
Springfield remains at the top of the charts as it still has the most video gaming terminals in Illinois, the machines reported approximately US$30.1 million in net terminal income from 635 terminals until June 30, up from the US$29.2 million from 622 terminals during the period that ended on June 30, 2016. “We continue to add terminals around the city,” said city budget director Bill McCarty.
Moreover, Antia Bedell, executive director of Illinois Church Action on Alcohol and Addiction Problems said that she wasn’t surprised by the report, as the state has allowed the video gambling expansion beyond the original law. She also claims that opponents expect another push for gambling expansion when state lawmakers return to work in October and November.
