Edwardsville and Chicago are among the few cities in Illinois that prohibit video gambling in bars and restaurants, and they are now being pressured to repeal those bans.

Edwardsville allows poker and slot machines only in three halls operated by nonprofit veteran and fraternal organizations.

That policy has led bar and restaurant owners to return to City Hall every few years, imploring officials to change their minds. It happened again last week at an Administrative and Community Services Committee meeting.

“Edwardsville’s city council loves to say that they love their small businesses,” said Steve Seibert, owner of Big Daddy’s on Main Street. “It is time to put your money where your mouth is.

“Your small businesses, bars and restaurants, are asking for a lifeline. We are not asking for a handout. Without this, we cannot stay competitive with the bars and restaurants in our surrounding communities. Some of us may close. Some of us may move.”

Seibert was one of six bar and restaurant owners who spoke at the committee meeting, vowing to launch a movement and begin making their case to the community.

Corey McMahan, owner of Joe’s Pizza and Pasta off Illinois 157, said he’s in the difficult position of watching customers go “across the street” to gamble at bars and restaurants in Glen Carbon.

“They’re thriving, when we are just trying to make it,” said McMahan, who also operates Joe’s restaurants in four other locations.

The village of Glen Carbon repealed its eight-year ban on video gambling in 2020, mostly due to COVID-related economic hardships faced by businesses. The village of Maryville followed suit in 2021.

The main benefit is financial. After payouts to gamblers, proceeds are divided four ways, according to Beth Kaufman, spokeswoman for the Illinois Gaming Board, which regulates the industry.

About 30% in tax revenue goes to the state and 5% to local governments. The remainder is divided between “terminal operators,” who own the poker and slot machines, and establishments such as bars, restaurants and truck stop convenience stores.

Belleville received $584,723 in tax revenue in 2024, Illinois Gaming Board records show. The revenue came from 44 establishments with a combined 236 poker and slot machines.

“Keeping small businesses open, generating tax revenue without negative impact (on) our everyday residents has been a win-win in my opinion,” Ward 7 Alderman Phil Elmore stated in a letter of support that Seibert submitted to Edwardsville officials.

Elmore noted that Belleville doesn’t allow “gaming parlors,” whose main focus is on gambling instead of food and drink.

Residents voted “no”

Edwardsville Ward 5 Alderman Will Krause said he sympathizes with businesses that are struggling, but he also has an obligation to represent his constituents, noting the majority have opposed video gambling in the past.

Officials placed a nonbinding referendum on the ballot in April 2021, asking whether poker and slot machines should be allowed in the city. Residents voted 1,237 to 782 against it.

Opponents voiced concerns about everything from tacky signs and flashing lights to corruption, gambling addiction and the disproportionate negative financial impact on low-income residents.

“Overwhelmingly, (residents) have always rejected it,” Krause said.

McMahan asked why officials felt compelled to hold a referendum on video gambling but not on cannabis dispensaries. Krause said they got very little pushback on the latter.

East St. Louis also prohibits video gambling in bars and restaurants. Its city officials, like those in Chicago, cite their strong reliance on tax revenue from casinos, including DraftKings at Casino Queen in East St. Louis and the Bally’s casino in Chicago.

Opponents of video gambling in Chicago also have expressed concern about negative social impacts, according to a recent report from its City Council Office of Financial Analysis.

“Gambling in general has long drawn critiques related to societal effects like addiction and disparate impacts on low-income communities,” it states. “Terminals are in neighborhood restaurants, bars, or other similar establishments, making ease of access a key draw for users.”

The report gave a high-end estimate that Chicago could receive $67 million in annual tax revenue from video gambling, after years of implementation and with full participation by eligible businesses.

In September, two aldermen helped push a Chicago City Council committee to vote 8-6 to advance an ordinance to allow poker and slot machines at about 3,500 restaurants, hotels, theaters and bowling alleys, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

The ordinance would have to be approved by the full City Council. Bally’s later warned that this would cost the city an estimated $74 million in annual casino tax revenue and put jobs at risk.

“Based on the 37% revenue reduction seen at other casinos with (legalization of video gambling), we project a staggering reduction of 750 to 1,050 positions,” a Bally’s executive told the newspaper.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has long opposed lifting the city’s ban on poker and slot machines, although some news organizations have reported that his stance has softened in recent months.

O’Fallon changed course

The Video Gaming Act of 2009 allowed video gambling in restaurants and bars, truck stop convenience stores that sell packaged liquor and halls operated by veteran and fraternal organizations.

It took three years to implement the law, and eventually, the less-stigmatized term “gaming” took hold with residents.

Municipalities could vote to opt out of video gambling, and dozens enacted bans in 2012. In the metro-east, that included the cities of Edwardsville, East St. Louis and O’Fallon, and villages of Glen Carbon and Maryville.

“(Video gambling is) not consistent with community standards,” said the late Gary Niebur, Edwardsville mayor from 1993 to 2013.

In 2015, O’Fallon City Council voted 8-5 to repeal the city’s ban after impassioned testimony from both supporters and opponents. The year before, officials had placed a nonbinding referendum on the ballot. Residents voted 4,748 to 4,335 against a prohibition on video gambling.

Like Belleville, O’Fallon doesn’t allow gaming parlors, and its regulations on for-profit businesses with poker and slot machines are “strict,” according to Acting City Administrator Grant Litteken.

“You have to be in good standing with a liquor license for two years before you can apply to be rezoned to allow video gaming,” he said. “(Aldermen) really wanted a policy that video gaming is an ancillary use, not a primary user for the establishment.”

O’Fallon received $301,020 in tax revenue from video gambling in 2024. The revenue came from 17 poker and slot machines in 92 establishments.

At last week’s committee meeting, Seibert said O’Fallon would be a good city to emulate for video-gambling regulations if the City Council decided to repeal Edwardsville’s ban.

Seibert estimated that poker and slot machines could yield an additional $50,000 to $100,000 a year for Big Daddy’s.

Several bar and restaurant owners told aldermen that they’ve been hurt by higher prices on food and other supplies, as well as increased competition in the Edwardsville area. The number of fast-food and other chain restaurants has grown significantly.

“This is the hardest streak of time that we’ve ever had,” said McMahan, of Joe’s Pizza and Pasta. “The profit margins just aren’t there anymore.”

Some of the bar and restaurant owners said they’ve had to cut back on donations to community causes, such as Edwardsville Neighbors and the Edwardsville Rotary Criterium.

Jason Armbruster, owner of Foundry Public House, and Gina Gamblin, owner of EXO Nail Bar, Med Spa and Lounge, told aldermen that they might be forced out of business in the next year without help in the form of revenue from video gambling.

“I’m functioning at the bare minimum right now, and there’s no light in sight,” Armbruster said.

Acceptance has doubled

O’Fallon, Glen Carbon and Maryville aren’t alone in changing their minds about video gambling.

In fiscal year 2013, 63.3% of Illinoisans lived in areas that prohibited poker and slot machines, according to a “Wagering in Illinois” update from the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability. By fiscal year 2025, that had dropped to 34%.

“As local governments search for additional revenues, more municipalities may turn to video gaming as a new revenue source,” the update states.

Twelve cities and about 70 villages out of nearly 1,500 municipalities are known to have complete bans, Illinois Gaming Board records show. The cities are Chicago, Des Plaines, East St. Louis, Evanston, Geneva, Highland Park, Highwood, Lake Forest, Naperville, Palos Heights, Park Ridge and Wheaton.

Edwardsville isn’t on the list because it allows poker and slot machines in halls operated by three veteran and fraternal organizations. That yielded $54,157 in tax revenue in 2024.

Here are tax revenues received last year by metro-east municipalities:

• Alton, $608,125 from 207 terminals in 38 establishments
• Belleville, $584,723 from 236 terminals in 44 establishments
• Cahokia Heights, $345,958 from 130 terminals in 23 establishments
• Caseyville, $333,791 from 94 terminals in 16 establishments
• Collinsville, $372,153 from 90 terminals in 16 establishments
• Columbia, $277,644 from 78 terminals in 14 establishments
• Dupo, $92,857 from 38 terminals in seven establishments
• East Alton, $311,024 from 120 terminals in 21 establishments
• Edwardsville, $54,157 from 18 terminals in three establishments
• Fairview Heights, $359,251 from 97 terminals in 17 establishments
• Freeburg, $155,056 from 48 terminals in eight establishments
• Glen Carbon, $64,135 from 30 terminals in five establishments
• Granite City, $400,295 from 191 terminals in 34 establishments
• Hamel, $76,973 from 21 terminals in four establishments
• Highland, $255,731 from 100 terminals in 18 establishments
• Lebanon, $115,906 from 54 terminals in 10 establishments
• Madison, $266,124 from 87 terminals in 15 establishments
• Mascoutah, $241,423 from 92 terminals in 17 establishments
• Marissa, $59,558 from 30 terminals in five establishments
• Maryville, $57,525 from 29 terminals in five establishments
• Millstadt, $141,761 from 56 terminals in 10 establishments
• O’Fallon, $301,020 from 92 terminals in 17 establishments
• Pontoon Beach, $431,555 from 92 terminals in 16 establishments
• Red Bud, $133,889 from 67 terminals in 12 establishments
• St. Jacob, $19,127 from 17 terminals in three establishments
• Shiloh, $249,277 from 42 terminals in seven establishments
• Swansea, $399,544 from 95 terminals in 16 establishments
• Troy, $362,693 from 125 terminals in 21 establishments
• Venice, $19,979 from six terminals in one establishment
• Washington Park, $105,992 from 45 terminals in eight establishments

Committee members listened to the Edwardsville bar and restaurant owners for nearly an hour during the public-participation period at last week’s meeting, but Chairwoman Elizabeth Grant told them officials couldn’t fully discuss a topic not on the agenda.

Grant promised to schedule a discussion on video gambling under “new business” in the near future, noting that would give supporters, opponents, aldermen and other officials a chance to weigh in.

“It’s complicated,” she said.