Illinois Lawmakers Working on an Omnibus Gambling Bill |
Posted: May 28, 2019 |
An Illinois legislative committee voted to remove some provisions in the Senate-passed bill. As a result, the bill returned to the House in the form of a shell bill. According to sources, lawmakers are working on a single gambling bill that will incorporate casino operations expansion, higher taxes on video gambling, and sports betting. All the items are suggestions made by Governor J.B. Pritzker and other lawmakers. Their goal is to raise more money for the state. In fact, Senate Bill 516 will expand the responsibilities of the Illinois Gaming Board to regulate land-based and riverboat casinos. Under the existing law, riverboats are self-propelled boats or those moored where gambling is licensed and authorized. At present, there are ten riverboat casinos in the state. The Senate Bill will allow riverboat casinos to relocate to other areas, which will give operators the opportunity to operate within the Chicago area. There’s no provision for legalizing bookie pay per head in the state. Omnibus Gambling BillCasino operators want to allow their riverboat casinos to be land-based casinos in other parts of the state. In recent years, they intensified their efforts since the state legalized video gaming terminals. A gambling company proposed a casino at Walker’s bluff that can potentially attract more than 4 million gamblers who live within 250 miles from the location. In fact, the casino can create more than 1,200 construction jobs, and more than 700 jobs when it is already operational. Governor Pritzker called for the legalization of sports betting during his budget proposal in February. He estimates that sports betting revenue can bring in $200 million in licensing fees alone. Also, the governor proposed increasing the tax rate on video game operations with incomes more than $2.5 million from 30 percent to 50 percent. The proposal will net the state $89 million yearly.
|
||||||||||||||||||
|