Chicago City Council members propose expanding video gambling to airports and bars
Chicago City Council members are reviving plans to legalize video gambling in the city, introducing two ordinances that could bring hundreds of terminals to O’Hare and Midway airports and allow machines citywide for the first time.
The proposals come despite opposition from Mayor Brandon Johnson’s financial team, which has questioned the potential revenue and warned of competition with the city’s new casino. One ordinance, introduced by Alderman Gilbert Villegas (36th), targets the city’s airports, where he sees both political feasibility and high revenue potential.
“The General Assembly has provided this opportunity through the casino bill. Yet, we’re not taking advantage of capturing dollars from one of the busiest airports in the country,” Villegas said.
“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.”
Villegas’ proposal includes a $10,000 license fee per location, plus $500 per terminal. A separate terminal license would cost $1,000, with an additional $500 per unit. If 400 machines each generated $800 daily, Villegas estimates annual revenue could reach $116.8 million, with the city taking a share through licensing and taxes.
Alderman Anthony Beale (9th) is pushing for a broader citywide expansion. His ordinance would legalize video gambling throughout Chicago, including in neighborhood bars and restaurants.
“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 gonna hit the taxpayers in every household.”
Beale’s ordinance proposes a $500 license fee per location and a $1,000-per-terminal charge for both the site and the machine itself. He has criticized the administration for dismissing the potential benefits, arguing that the current tax formula could be renegotiated with state lawmakers.
“That’s because they haven’t shown the willingness to go down to Springfield and change the formula,” he said. “I’m hoping that submitting these ordinances will finally convince them to send a team down there.”
City officials, however, have voiced skepticism. In June, Chief Financial Officer Jill Jaworski cited a consultant’s study estimating just $10 million in annual revenue from video gambling, warning that the expansion could hurt revenues at the city’s downtown casino, where slot machine taxes are nearly four times higher.
Alderman William Hall (6th), who chairs the City Council’s revenue subcommittee, said his panel will hold another hearing on video gambling next week. Hall emphasized the need to crack down on unregulated sweepstakes machines currently operating in some neighborhoods before expanding the legal market.
“Sweepstakes machines are essentially illegal slot machines in a lot of neighborhoods,” Hall said. “It’s creating a black market that’s detrimental.” Hall added that once illegal machines are removed, the city could support more than 3,800 legal terminals.
https://www.yogonet.com/international/news/2025/07/21/111897-chicago-city-council-members-propose-expanding-video-gambling-to-airports-and-bars