See Boone County Government’s last reported 12 months income from video gaming, after the opinion piece.
Posted Sep. 5, 2014 @ 1:52 pm
Video gaming is an unquestioned success in Illinois. Nearly two years after the first video gaming terminals became available to the public in September 2012, the numbers and the stories from so many people and places around Illinois prove that state lawmakers were correct in legalizing video gaming five years ago.
Just ask the Illinois Gaming Board. In its 2013 Annual Report, the board wrote, “Video gaming in Illinois has proved to be both a regulatory and technical success as well as an important adjunct to State revenues.”
As president of the Illinois Gaming Machine Operators Association (igmoa.org), which includes many video gaming terminal operators whose machines are producing these great benefits around our state, I hear of video gaming success stories every day. Our partnering bars, restaurants and veterans or fraternal clubs are using the new revenue to start to recover from years of financial hardship. There is a renewed hope on Main Street Illinois that people are “coming home” to spend money on local entertainment. That means more people are going to work in higher-paying jobs and spending money in neighborhood stores. As a bonus, governments are able to fix roads and bridges and support local budgets.
Too often, the stories of the winning hand that video gaming provides all across our state go untold as our critics blame us for the demise of casinos or focus on negative behavior associated with gambling. It is time we spoke up as an industry so Illinois citizens see for themselves the impressive results:
Video gaming started in September 2012 with 61 machines producing about $27,000 in tax revenue. The growth since then has been strong. By the end of 2013, more than 13,300 machines statewide had produced nearly $90.2 million in state and local tax revenue.
This year has been even more successful. Through July 2014, the latest numbers reported by the Illinois Gaming Board, there are now nearly 18,000 machines around Illinois that have generated about $104 million, surpassing last year’s total in just over a half of a year — a pace that would exceed $180 million in state and local tax revenue by the end of this year.
Decisions by Chicago, unincorporated Cook County and other communities to opt out of video gaming have definitely hurt the industry’s chances of meeting revenue expectations set when lawmakers and Gov. Pat Quinn approved VGTs as a key funding source for the 2009 capital construction bill. Yet, local economic benefits from revenues on the machines that are operating in participating communities have exceeded expectations.
There has been no increase in crime tied to video gaming, as some critics had predicted. Towns realize they have ultimate control over which businesses qualify for video gaming and its future growth. This makes us hopeful we will continue to see growth and that we will be able to educate communities who have turned down video gaming to revisit earlier decisions that were made before they understood the video gaming laws and the positive impact our industry is having on Illinois.
Read more: http://www.rrstar.com/article/20140905/Opinion/140909621#ixzz3CahfwLfL
Total Boone County government income for last 12 months: $61,132.89.
City of Belvidere’s 12 month income is $53,065.04.
Poplar Grove’s 12 month income is $10,441.10.
Capron’s 12 month income is $5,718.79.
Above video gaming income available at: http://www.igb.illinois.gov/VideoReports.aspx
