The prospect of a 40,000-machine VLT market opening up in street locations in Illinois, US, is under threat. An Illinois state senator is proposing to replace the regulation with a new cigarette tax.
Senate President John Cullerton has introduced the legislation which would take the place of the US$500m-plus revenue which VLTs would have offered.
The industry has been quick to respond to the threat of repealing the VLT law, citing immediate redundancies and the closure of many ‘mom and pop’ small operations, some of which had been in the amusement industry for generations and many others which were start-up businesses.
The process of opening up the state to legalised gaming machines in street locations has already begun, with the state gaming board taking on 50 new staff to help with the background checks on over 100 licence applications.
