The Villa Park Planning and Zoning Commission Thursday voted 5-2 to recommend approval of an off-track betting parlor in the North Park Mall.
Commissioners agreed to change the zoning code to permit an OTB. The proposal could go before the Village Board March 24.
The Illinois Racing Board has approved Arlington Park’s plan to put an OTB in a proposed 10,000-square-foot Italian restaurant on the site of a former Denny’s.
Village Administrator Bob Niemann touted the revenue that a betting parlor would produce.
He said an OTB in nearby Oakbrook Terrace produced $75 million a year in revenue and $750,000 in local taxes.
The proposed Villa Park OTB is projected to make between $8 million and $12 million a year and provide about $100,000 in taxes.
“It is very rare that a facility of 10,000 square feet would generate $100,000 in taxes,” Niemann said.
“That’s more than a car dealership.”
