Illinois Seeing Problems with Video Poker
November 13, 2009
Illinois has been trying to get video poker legalized within the state as
they say that it will allow them to bring in more money and thus fund more
projects for the state. They pushed to get the video poker games legalized
and were successful on that front, but the legislation that was hopefully
going to get pushed through has not. This legislation was supposed to fix
those problems that were with the original bill legalizing the poker games,
but the movement on it has stalled out leaving many to wonder where they go
next.
The bill did not get enough support as it went through the House during
their fall Veto Session, thus leaving the issue of ownership and operation
up in the air. This bill would have given the state, via the Illinois Gaming
Board, the authority to determine those basic fundamentals for owning and
operating the video poker games. It would have given them the power to
assess how many video poker machines are enough for each operator, as well
as how much the games should run for. There is talk that some could be a
penny and others a nickel, but this needs to be decided upon by a governing
board of some sort.
There is also a concern among those groups that were opposed to the video
poker games where they say that operating these games in truck stops 24
hours a day is a bad idea. They argue that they “prey on local residents”
and that there should at least be a limit to the hours that they are in
operation.
Those in support of the video poker machines say that they need to run 24/7
as they are targeting tourists and they come through at all hours of the day
and night. They say that to limit when they could run would limit the amount
of money that they would be able to gain from the poker machines.
