Illinois Still in Debate over Video Gambling
Kane County is the latest Illinois jurisdiction to weigh in on the question of video gambling. The pastime is seeing a lot of controversy lately as counties and states work their way through the legal aspect of gaming. Gambling is a number one priority in the world today. It means millions of dollars to the jurisdiction that is debating and can provide a lot of budget funding for legislators. With millions of dollars at stake, it is no wonder that many counties and states are fighting vehemently over the question of whether or not to allow it and how it should be managed.
Kane County is another jurisdiction to voice its concerns over the issue. Board members are looking into the future of video gambling within the area. The board wants another vote on the issue once they are able to sit down with state lawmakers and discuss the problems. Kane County is one of many areas in Illinois that has banned the video gambling machines. Upon further investigation, however, the Board now believes their stance on the issue may hurt them when they try to obtain funds from the state.
“It puts our legislators at a disadvantage as they advocate for us,” said board member Bill Hyatt, “We’re going to pound our fist on the table and say we want more money coming back to the county. Well, we just passed a vote that said we’re not going to participate in funding for the capital bill we pushed for.” Now that Kane County has seen the power of gambling and seen the error of their moves, other jurisdictions may soon follow suit. State lawmakers are passing on the video gambling laws to help counties and town make it through the difficult post-recessionary times. Gaming Analyst Steve Schwartz said, “It is kind of like when a child does not like the dinner that their parents made, so they tell their parents they are not hungry. Then, ten minutes later that same child wants dessert. Well the parent is going to say ‘No.’” His point was that Illinois lawmakers will be watching closely the jurisdictions that denied their help for increasing revenue. When those areas come back looking for funding, lawmakers most likely will deny them.
