Illinois to Hear Arguments in Favor of Extending Casino Hours
Next month the Illinois Gaming Board will hear arguments in favor of allowing the state’s ten land-based casinos to remain open 24 hours per day.
Currently, the ten casinos in the Land of Lincoln are only permitted under state law to be open for business for 22 hours per day, this according to the Chicago Tribune.
Casinos want parity with video gambling
A group representing six of the casinos located in the state, the Illinois Casino Gaming Association, is pushing for the change.
Under current regulations, the casinos must keep their doors closed for two hours per day. Those hours can vary, however each casino must have its hours approved by state casino regulators. Most in the state stay closed for the requisite two hours daily, though some do close their doors for longer periods.
The head of the Illinois Casino Gaming Association, Tom Swoik, argues that not only does the two-hour requirement put the state’s casino industry on unequal footing with newly-regulated video gambling machines that are allowed to operate around the clock, but it also deprives the state of revenue, as casino gambling is taxed at a higher rate than is video gambling.
“We’ll hire more people, plus the state will make more money and we will make more money,” Swoik was quoted by the paper.
Neighboring states have an edge, say proponents
Another argument the Illinois casino industry has raised is that in the neighboring states of Missouri, Iowa, and Indiana, 24-hour casino gaming is permitted. Illinois casinos are losing out, they say, as patrons choose to visit properties where time restrictions are not imposed.
Competition among states for casino revenue has been fierce in recent years, a pattern seen not only in the Midwest but all over the nation as governments turn to land-based casino expansion as a means of infusing public coffers with cash as budgets remain strained in the wake of the recession and with the economy still in stagnation mode.
Problem gambling issue has been raised
While the Illinois casino industry is vocally in favor of allowing Illinoisans 24-hour access to their favorite gambling pastimes, the issue is not without its opposition.
Anita Bedell of the Illinois Church Action on Alcohol & Addiction Problems told the Tribune that in allowing casinos to remain open day and night, problem gamblers in the state may have no reason to leave the properties.
“Our concern is that some gamblers will not go home until the casino closes. This isn’t just extending gambling by a few hours, it’s making it nonstop and some people will stay two, three, four days without stopping,” Bedell told the paper.
Fall may see additional casino debate
Casino gambling, already a hot-button topic in the state of Illinois, is likely to come to the forefront as the fall political season gets underway.
Earlier this year, a bill that would have allowed for the construction of five new land-based casinos in Illinois failed in the state legislature, though the bill’s sponsors said last spring that they intended to reintroduce the bill, which also would have permitted the development of a casino in downtown Chicago, during the fall legislative term.
Meanwhile, the state’s historically anti-gambling governor, Democrat Pat Quinn, recently kicked off his re-election campaign running up to the 2014 gubernatorial race. Governor Quinn, who has been accused by many in the state of being a poor leader incapable of getting much done, faces stiff competition to retain his job, most notably from former White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley. Daley’s brother and father were both long-serving Chicago mayors.
