Poker Writer
A Chicago City Council panel pushed through legislation to ban sweepstakes gambling terminals that have operated in a legal gray area. The decision went against the wishes of Mayor Brandon Johnson, who had been asking for more time to review the proposition.
The ordinance, proposed by Alderman Anthony Beale, will still need the full approval of the city council.
The city council had been split on video gaming terminals (VGTs) in a long-standing, hotly contested debate. But the sweepstakes gambling machines dodged that debate and regulation by not giving cash payments. The sweepstakes machines have different mechanics that put them in a gray area outside of the framework of the previous debates on VGTs in Chicago.
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Sweepstakes Machines ‘Provide No Benefit’
Sweepstakes machines would be banned in the ordinance. Those sweepstakes machines do not generate any revenue for the city as the legal VGTs would.
Beale explained why the sweepstakes machines are so damaging to Chicago at large:
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. The city of Chicago hasn’t gotten one benefit from sweepstakes machines. Not one.
The machines provide no benefits that would justify the negatives of them, such as the several burglaries surrounding video gambling machines.
The sweepstakes ban proposal would punish offenders in a series of steps:
- $1,000 fine for first offense
- $2,000 for second offense
- Confiscation after multiple offenses
Chicago Bars and Restaurants Fight Against Ban
Several owners of Chicago-area bars and restaurants are fighting a possible ban on sweepstakes machines. Establishments have been housing the machines for a long time without any issues, from their perspective.
One bar owner said she would lose her business after 38 years of operation without the machines. Another owner acknowledged that there are bad actors in the sweepstakes video gaming space, but urged the council not to lump all machine owners together with them.
