Illinois Sweepstakes gambling machine ban approved by City Council committee
A City Council panel pushed through legislation Tuesday to ban sweepstakes gambling terminals that operate in a legal gray area in Chicago, a loss for Mayor Brandon Johnson after his administration asked more time to review such a prohibition.
The Committee on License and Consumer Protection approved in a voice vote far South Side Ald. Anthony Beale’s ordinance to prohibit so-called "sweepstakes” gambling machines that currently dodge regulation by avoiding cash payouts. Alds. Nicholas Sposato, Angela Clay and David Moore voted no.
The proposal, which still requires full City Council approval, is the latest front in the ongoing debate among Chicago leaders over how to regulate or tax gambling amid historic fiscal shortfalls.
The 2026 budget passed by aldermen over Johnson’s objections calls for legalizing video gambling machines as part of a bundle of deficit-plugging measures. Beale, a mayoral opponent, led the charge to include the legalization in the final proposal.
The sweepstakes machines that would be banned under Beale’s ordinance are separate and already ubiquitous in Chicago, particularly in gas stations across the South and West sides. But those hundreds of machines do not generate revenue for the city.
Though Beale, 9th, has previously called for the city to allow and regulate sweepstakes machines, prohibiting them outright could also benefit his move to more broadly legalize the video gambling industry in Chicago. He added Tuesday he believes the state, which does not recognize sweepstakes machines, would crack down on the city if it were to permit them.
"We’re turning a blind eye on an industry that has taken advantage of the South and West Side under the guidelines that these are Black and brown businesses,” Beale said before the vote. "The city of Chicago hasn’t gotten one benefit from sweepstakes machines. Not one.”
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/05/05/sweepstakes-gambling-machine-ban-city-council-committee/