Three Casino Licenses Approved by Illinois Gaming Board

The Illinois Gaming Board, the government body responsible for regulating gambling in the American state, has announced that three land-based casinos have received licenses to operate in Danville, Carterville and Chicago.

Moreover, at the meeting of the Illinois Gaming Board in the last week of October, the Argosy Casino Alton was granted an extension on its already existing license so it will continue to operate for another four years.

The casinos that received the three licenses are Golden Nugget Danville, Walker’s Bluff Casino Resort and Bally’s Chicago. The license applications were put to the vote of the Board, but before that each of the casino representatives was given the chance to present the highlights of their operations and the future plans.

Along with the license for Bally’s Chicago, the company that operates that casino also received approval to operate a temporary casino at Medinah Temple for a total of 36 months while its permanent venue is under construction in Chicago.

Marcus D. Fruchter, the Administrator of the Illinois Gaming Board, made a quick recap following the meeting and underlined that the Board has licensed five new casinos since November 2021, with the respective venues located in Rockford, Waukegan, Danville, Carterville and Chicago.

The Illinois Gaming Board Administrator described this period as one “of unprecedented growth and expansion” and reminded the public that the government body remains “steadfast in its commitment to ensuring the ethics, compliance, integrity, safety, and transparency of Illinois gaming.”

New Video Gaming Rule

Marcus D. Fruchter also announced that the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules has adopted Video Gaming Rule 1800.1750, which had previously been adopted by the Illinois Gaming Board in April 2023. The new rule requires all operators licensed in Illinois to post responsible gaming signage in all video gaming locations. Casinos and sportsbooks were already required to do this in Illinois.

The Illinois Gaming Board also announced that it has completed a study on undue economic concentration in the video gaming industry in the American state. The respective study was completed by Christiansen Capital Advisors and its findings will be used by the Board to refine and adapt its regulations in order to keep the gaming market in Illinois innovative and competitive.

“Complex and important issues surrounding undue economic concentration have been largely unresolved since passage of the Video Gaming Act in 2009, and this study is an important step for the IGB’s work in this space,” Marcus D. Fruchter explained.

Source: “Argosy Casino Receives Four-Year License: Illinois Gaming Board Approves Three Casino Licenses“. RiverBender. October 26, 2023.