Illinois Moves to Block Self-Excluded Gamblers From VGTs

Illinois regulators want self-excluded gamblers kept away from the state's video gaming terminals. Their proposed fix is blunt: no more cash at the machine. On Thursday the Illinois Gaming Board put forward new rules that would fold its network of nearly 50,000 VGTs into the same self-exclusion regime already covering casinos, sports betting and the lottery. That network is the biggest of its kind anywhere in the world. Which is exactly why the gap matters.

Here's how it works now. A person who signs the state's self-exclusion list can still walk into a bar, feed cash into a terminal and play. The list is meant to stop them gambling anywhere in Illinois for the length of their exclusion. It doesn't reach the slot-like machines. And there are tens of thousands of those scattered across the state.

Marcus Fruchter, the Gaming Board's administrator, framed the proposal as closing that loophole. Speaking at the Board's meeting last week, he said extending self-exclusion to the terminals is a further step toward making sure players are genuinely protected. "We are decidedly on the right path and will continue driving forward, but we will do so in a focused, collaborative, intentional, and efficient manner as we advance this critical initiative," he said. The Board has labelled the measure a public health priority.

The mechanism is where the detail sits. Terminals would stop taking cash directly. Players would buy vouchers from a dedicated device instead, paying by cash or a digital method, and that transaction would verify identity. Two things get checked at once: that the player is at least 21, and that their name isn't on the exclusion list. Clear both, and the voucher works at the machine.

Players could also open a video gaming account. That route stays voluntary, provided identity has already been confirmed. Operators would carry obligations either way. Anyone opening an account would need access to responsible gambling tools, including the ability to self-exclude, and operators would have to make sure a person already on the exclusion list can't open an account at all.

Earlier attempts to apply self-exclusion to the terminal network ran into technical problems. The Board's position now is that the hardware and software can handle the upgrade across the state's machines without the obstacles that stalled previous efforts.

The proposed rules still have to go through the formal process before they take effect. For players on the self-exclusion list, the practical change would be simple and overdue: the voucher counter becomes the point where the machine learns who you are.