The Illinois Gaming Board (IGB) held its monthly meeting on Thursday, October 24, 2024. The meeting was hybrid with in-person accessibility at 160 N. LaSalle St., 5th Floor Auditorium and via live stream. Council members present at this meeting included Chairman Schmadeke, Member Hayden and Member Brannon.

Before we start the meeting summary, we wanted to briefly point out that the IGB has changed their website a bit. If you have any problems or difficulty finding information on the site due to its new design, please let us know. We have provided links to certain portions of the IGB website throughout this newsletter for your convenience.

The meeting began with the approval of the minutes of the regular board meeting of Thursday, September 12, 2024. Immediately thereafter, the Board proceeded to the dissemination of certain closed session meeting minutes of 2021, 2023 and 2024. While most examination minutes were approved for release, minutes from June 2021, March 2024 and April 2024 were deemed unsuitable for release and therefore remain confidential. The broadcast minutes will be available on the IGB website Previous meetings.

Administrator report

The administrator began his comments with the 2025 meeting schedule. It is provided below for your convenience and is also available on the IGB website Future meetings.

Calendar dates 2025:

Thursday, February 06, 2025

Thursday, March 13, 2025

Thursday, April 24, 2025

Thursday, June 05, 2025

Thursday, July 24, 2025

Thursday, September 11, 2025

Thursday, October 23, 2025

Thursday, December 11, 2025

Next, the Administrator reviewed the modernization and reassessment of certain IGB rules. With this consideration in mind, the Administrator requested public comments from the industry on two potential new video game (VG) rules regarding 1) implementation of a VG self-exclusion program and 2) implementation of cashless technology in the VG market. Comments may include issues/concerns/suggestions for the development and implementation of the opt-out program and/or cashless technology. Comments can be submitted using the IGB’s online request form here: Online request form and choosing “Public Comments on IGB Rules” from the drop-down options. Comments must be submitted by 17:00 on 13 January 2025. Alternatively, feel free to contact us if you would like to coordinate your comments.

The administrator continued his comments by reminding people to only patronize legal and licensed gambling/sports betting providers and avoid gray market or unregulated unlicensed operators.

The administrator concluded his comments with industry revenue figures. According to the Administrator, there are 8,683 live video gaming locations offering approximately 48,751 video gaming terminals (VGTs). As of September, these VGTs generated $84 million in taxes, with the state’s share of about $71 million and local municipalities receiving about $12 million. September also generated $43 million in tax revenue, with $34 million in taxes going to the state and $9 million to host communities. In the end, AGR’s total sports betting generated $14 million in taxable revenue, with $13 million in taxes going to the state and about $625,000 to Cook County. To date, for 2024, the combined video gaming, sports betting, and casino industries have generated more than $1.2 billion in taxes.

Administrative matters

The meeting continued with the administrator providing an overview of a proposed new rule and a change to an existing rule. A brief presentation of these proposals follows. The Board of Directors approved the submission of the proposed regulation/amendment to the Secretary of State’s Index Department and they will go through the standard rulemaking process, including first notice (public comment) and then second notice with the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules. (JCAR) review and examination.

The first proposal discussed was Rule 3000.175 regarding the proposed recognition, reporting, and flagging requirements for human trafficking. Although most licensees already implement training and documentation policies regarding the recognition of potential human trafficking, the IGB is proposing this new rule to make such policies mandatory. Specifically, Rule 175 will provide the following:

• Casinos will provide training within three months of an employee’s hire date, as well as annual training.
• Casinos will have protocols in place to document potential human and/or human trafficking situations.
• Casinos will post human trafficking notices on property for people who may need assistance.

The second proposal discussed was to amend Rule 1900.1130 to prohibit certain bets and included a brief presentation from a representative of the National Football League (NFL). NFL commentary can be found in the additional news section of the IGB website: igb-sw-1130-nfl.pdf. The administrator, within the authority delegated to him by Rule 1130(i), issued a temporary suspension of betting on injuries, officiating player conduct in connection with and predetermined events in any NFL game until the board meeting in December, when the board can vote properly. regarding the permanent ban or not of the proposed betting events.

Casino

The casino portion of this meeting began with the board granting the application for final consideration of the renewal of the owners license of the Elgin Riverboat Resort d/b/a Grand Victoria Casino.

The Board then filed the application to waive the two-meeting rules and the transfer of ownership application for Fairmount Park, Inc. d/b/a FanDuel Sports Book and Horseracing and key person approvals as this matter will be discussed at length. in the sports betting section of the meeting.

The Board then approved initial occupational licenses for 38 Tier 2 applicants and 70 Tier 3 applicants and issued a refusal notice. The Commission also denied two hearing requests from occupational applicants because the requests did not meet the minimum requirements of Rule 405.

The Administrator then issued renewals to all occupational license holders who were due for renewal and who provided updated information, timely paid their renewal fees, and complied with all other requirements.

Sports betting

As mentioned in the casino section, the Board heard the presentation of Fairmount Park, Inc. d/b/a Fan Duel Sports Book and Horseracing regarding 1) request to waive the two-meet rule, 2) request to transfer ownership of applicant’s organizational gaming license to Accel Entertainment, Inc., 3 ) the application for the transfer of ownership of the master sports betting license and 4) the renewal of the master sports betting license the renewal of the master sports betting license of Fairmount Park, Inc. d/b/ a FanDuel sports book and horse racing. All requests have been accepted and the key persons identified have been approved.

The Board then issued 106 Level 2 occupational licenses and the Administrator granted renewals to Level 1, 2 and 3 license holders due for renewal, provided updated information to the IGB, timely paid their renewal fees and all other requirements met.

Video games

The video gaming portion of the meeting began with the granting of the initial application for a terminal operator license by the Board of Directors of Traayo Gaming LLC.

The board then awarded 48 terminal operator licenses and four terminal technician licenses.

The Administrator then renewed the terminal operator, technician and location licensees to be renewed and provided updated information to IGB, timely paid their renewal fees and complied with all other requirements. The administrator then issued a non-renewal notice to Primo’s Tacos Inc d/b/a Primo’s Tacos.

The meeting continued with the IGB approving 98 license location applicants and issuing denials to the following three establishments:

• BCG Restaurant Group Inc. d/b/a Thorabella’s
• Jam Bug LLC d/b/a The Chinchbug
• Knox Investments, Inc. d/b/a The Pony

The board also rescinded previously issued non-renewals or denials at the following four locations:

• DGC 132012, Inc. d/b/a El Progeso Latino
• Bryan’s Boondocks, Inc. d/b/a Bryan’s Boondocks, Inc.
• SHRI GASOLINE INC., d/b/a BP SHOP
• Arbuda Oaklawn Inc., d/b/a Oaklawn Wine and Spirits

Next, the Board denied the hearing requests of two applicants for failure to demonstrate a prima facie case: Gammon Coach House LLC d/b/a Gammon Coach House and Rudraya Corp. d/b/a Bravo Pizza and Italian Restaurant.

To conclude the meeting, the Board issued two final board orders on Rule 320 Petitions 24-UP-004 and 24-UP-008 between Lucky Lincoln Gaming, LLC (petitioner) and the subject locations (respondents) in which IGB adopted the recommendations of the administrative law judge and admitted in part and rejected in part the claims in question. As always, the final orders of the Board are available on the IGB website Rule 320 Petitions.

That concludes this month’s meeting summary. The next meeting will take place on Thursday, December 12, 2024.

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