In December, the Chicago City Council passed a provision in the 2026 budget that legalizes licensing of unregulated video gambling terminals within the city limits. This maneuver, pushed through behind the scenes with little knowledge of the public, opens the door to big problems for our city. Every Chicagoan should be alarmed.
In a time of great financial instability and uncertainty for our city, legalizing unregulated video gambling terminals will only worsen our problems. When the city of Chicago finally forged an agreement with Bally’s corporation to create a Chicago casino, it was with the intent to create a new source of consistent revenue that would bolster our underfunded police and fire pensions. One of the conditions of the agreement between Bally’s and the city, however, was that unregulated video gambling licenses would remain illegal in Chicago. Now that aldermen have legalized them, the contract between Bally’s and the city will be reopened, jeopardizing a $4 million payment guaranteed to the city each year from Bally’s.
In other areas in Illinois where video gambling terminals have been operational since 2012, Illinois casinos have seen a 37% reduction in gaming revenue. With an expected similar result here, Bally’s could see a yearly total tax loss of $260 million. The city stands to lose some $70 million in revenue yearly. Who’s going to have to pick up the tab for these losses? That’s right — you and me, the taxpayers of the city.
You might be wondering: But wouldn’t video gambling generate enough revenue to make up for any losses at the casino? In a word? No. The city of Chicago only stands to gain 5.15% of the revenues from the terminals, versus 22.3% from casino gaming. Our aldermen should have done this math problem before irresponsibly legalizing these licenses, but in the chaos of budget season, this slipped through.
There’s another problem, which is the signal this maneuver sends to other companies considering doing business here. We want to be a city that’s known for being a great place for companies to invest and create economic prosperity and new jobs. Instead, we’re reneging on a deal we only just made a few years ago, and creating chaos for a company that should be one of our strongest partners. Bally’s agreed to a series of community benefits that we should all support — including contributing hundreds of thousands of dollars to neighborhood-based initiatives. Now, we’re sending a terrible message to other companies that Chicago’s government just can’t be trusted as a partner.
Perhaps most importantly, the proliferation of gaming terminals in bars and restaurants will create a real strain on safety in our neighborhoods. Bally’s — like all casinos — has a high level of security presence at its single location in Chicago. But video gambling terminals lack the same strong, embedded security measures that casinos provide. It’s safe to assume we’ll begin to see increased crime as new volumes of cash move from potentially thousands of small locations around the city. Of course, there’s been zero discussion among the City Council about the cost we taxpayers will have to bear to pay for additional Chicago police resources these terminals will necessitate. This plan hasn’t been thought through by the very leaders who passed it.
Aldermen can still fix their mistake by simply repealing the video gambling legalization they so irresponsibly passed at the end of last year. Aldermen, do the right thing, before this error leads to an even greater mess for us all.
Julie Darling and John Bosca are representatives on the Casino Community Advisory Council.
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