Chicago is finally staring down a question it has sidestepped for years: Should video gambling terminals (VGTs) become part of its urban fabric?
Aldermen Gilbert Villegas and Anthony Beale on Wednesday proposed a pair of ordinances that would allow the machines in the city limits.
The first proposal will allow VGTs at O’Hare International Airport and Midway International Airport. The second would allow the terminals citywide.
“The General Assembly has provided this opportunity through the casino bill,” Villegas said. “Yet, we’re not taking advantage of capturing dollars from one of the busiest airports in the country. This is a captive audience. People are there, in some cases, one or two hours before. If their flight is delayed or they’re making a connection and there is a delay, there’s an opportunity to capture an audience that may not even be going to the city. They have time to kill.”
Chicago’s political leadership took a more conservative approach to gambling when Illinois legalized VGTs in 2009. Under the Video Gaming Act, every municipality was given the option to opt in or out, and Chicago chose to opt out.
Beale pushes for revenue without taxpayer burden
These proposals are not just about adding more ways to gamble; they’re a maneuver for a city trying to pad a budget deficit, a brand-new casino, and a curious relationship with a gaming model that has thrived throughout the rest of Illinois.
Beale, on the other hand, isn’t thinking small. He is openly critical of Mayor Brandon Johnson‘s administration for not actively pursuing new revenue streams that don’t burden taxpayers directly.
“We need to do it citywide and at the airports,” Beale said. “We need the revenue, and this administration has not shown a willingness to find new revenue that’s not going to hit the taxpayers in every household.”
Opposition party weighs in
Mayor Johnson’s finance team, led by CFO Jill Jaworski, is throwing some cold water on these ideas. Their study says video gambling revenue would be pretty small — maybe $10 million a year at best.
But the real headache for them is the fear it would actually hurt the new Bally’s Chicago casino.
If you can play close to home, why trek to the casino? That could mean less cash for Chicago in the long run, even if the VGTs bring in some money. But Beale? He’s saying they just need to get serious about changing the tax laws in Springfield.
What’s the next step if the VGT plans fly?
If Chicago finally opts into video gambling, it’s not simply a matter of plugging in machines.
Illinois already has a detailed playbook for VGTs, governed by the Illinois Gaming Board. So, even with Chicago ordinances, the fundamental state-level rules will form the backbone of what’s expected.
If these proposals are actually enacted as they stand, for the airport machines, Villegas’s plan means the city pockets a $10,000 location license fee — likely per airport. Plus, they’ll get an extra $500 for single video gambling machine installed there.
If Beale’s citywide idea also goes through, individual bars and restaurants would pay a lower $500 location license but a steeper $1,000 for each machine they host. And the big picture? Chicago finally gets its slice of the state’s video gaming tax pie, which is currently 5% of all the money players lose statewide.
What Illinois’ and Pennsylvania’s VGT experiences mean for Chicago
Illinois is the big player in the VGT world outside of dedicated casinos. The state has blanketed its cities, suburbs and towns with the machines — around 45,000 terminals now bring in billions of dollars in revenue every year.
Compare that to Pennsylvania, whose approach to VGTs has been more cautious. Since 2017, Pennsylvania has kept the market tight, limiting the machines almost exclusively to truck stops. Because of that, PA’s VGT revenue is much smaller — around $40-$45 million annually.
Still, Illinois shows that you can roll VGTs out in a targeted way, bring in extra money for the state without flooding the market or stepping on the toes of big casinos. It’s a deliberate choice to avoid the “oversaturation” issue that some worry about.
At the end of the day, places like O’Hare and Midway airports are goldmines for VGTs — filled with people who are just waiting around, often bored, with time to kill.
That’s a built-in, ready-made market for VGTs, untouched so far. Pennsylvania’s experience, even with its smaller scale, clearly shows that when you’re smart about where you put these machines — making them an extra bit of entertainment, especially away from the main casino action — you can see both state and local revenues climb without hurting the bigger gambling operations.
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