Illinois Video Gaming Hits 200 Towns as Local Bans Flip
Video gaming terminals are now running in over 200 municipalities across the Chicago metro area, per the Illinois Gaming Board. That's roughly 80% of communities in the region, a sharp turnaround from less than two decades ago, when the machines were flat-out illegal in Illinois.
Lawmakers legalized video gaming terminals in 2009. Machines went live three years later, in 2012. By early September 2026, the state had licensed 8,799 locations and 50,049 terminals. The Gaming Board calls it the largest regulated distributed video gaming network of its kind anywhere. Operators weighing a move into Illinois should pay attention to those numbers.
Money follows volume. Net terminal income hit $3.19 billion last year, which worked out to about $1.12 billion in tax revenue split between state and local governments. Through August 2026, municipalities had pulled in more than $111 million in video gambling tax revenue. The state's share came to nearly $685 million. For plenty of local budgets, that's not a rounding error.
Density, though, raises questions. In Kane, McHenry and Will counties, video gaming is allowed in nearly every municipality. Bans are more common in Cook, DuPage and Lake counties. Some local officials are revisiting policies they set years ago, back when the machines were newer and the revenue harder to predict.
North Chicago is one of them. Officials there decided gambling had become too concentrated and moved to tighten the rules. New establishments now have to generate at least two-thirds of their revenue from non-gaming activities. New gambling businesses also can't open directly next to existing ones. "We didn't want to be known as a little Vegas," said Greg Jackson, chief of staff to Mayor Leon Rockingham Jr. The goal, Jackson said, is to cut back gaming while chasing other forms of economic development.
Other towns are heading the opposite direction. Bolingbrook recently chose to lift its long-standing ban after an advisory referendum showed support for allowing video gambling. Machines will be permitted there, but on a limited basis, officials say. The vote doesn't bind the village board, though it clearly shaped the decision.
Sweepstakes machines have shown up across the region too, outside the regulated terminal system. The Illinois Gaming Board classifies them as illegal gambling devices. They run without licensing, taxation, oversight or consumer protections, according to the agency. Critics say the sheer number of machines fuels gambling-related harm and makes gambling more visible in daily life. They also point to burglaries at establishments that operate them.
For local governments, the math isn't simple. Revenue is real. So are the costs. The challenge is deciding how much of one is worth the other. Operators looking to enter the Chicago market should watch which towns tighten rules and which ones open up. The next round of local votes and ordinance changes will settle where terminals can actually go.