Several Towns Rushed To Approve Video Gaming “Push Tax” Before Legislative Deadline

HB 3136, which passed through the Illinois Senate and House last week, allows municipalities to charge a “push tax” on video gaming terminals (VGTs).

The catch is that in order to impose the force tax going forward, the towns had to do so before Monday. As a result, on Sunday, the community board and city authorities of Calumet City, Dolton, Markham, South Chicago Heights, and University Park did so.

In this instance, a force taxes is the practice of charging players one cent each time they participate in an online game at VGT.

In an effort to increase municipal income, Oak Lawn created the push tax in 2020. The VGT sector filed a lawsuit against Oak Lawn about immediately. In the end, Waukegan may follow the village’s lead.

The background of Illinois’ force tax

Oak Lawninvented the push tax because it was upset that it wasn’t getting a proper cut of VGT revenue.

The state & rsquo’s VGT revenue split from 25 % to 29 % in 2019 was increased by new gaming legislation. Municipalities & rsquo, however, cut was and still is 5 % today.

Oak Lawn Trustee Paul MallotoldThe Patch Oak Lawn:

& ldquo, It was outrageous that the video game industry ignored the municipalities when they re-cut the revenue-sharing pie. We are talking about billions of dollars in revenue, and towns are responsible for delivering officers and emergency services as well as maintaining clean streets so that businesses can operate in a secure and welcoming environment. & rdquo,

Mallo continued:

& ldquo, We spoke with a lot of Oak Lawn bettors, and our research revealed that they typically placed between 100 and 200 wagers each time they played, so neither we nor they felt that the$ 1 or$ 2 tax was unfair. & rdquo,

The squeeze revenue has recently been criticized as being illegal by the Illinois Gaming Machine Operators Association. Detractors claim that it is difficult to monitor each play and taxes the casino, which may deter them from playing further.

Which, in turn, could hurt the operators. Homer Glen, for instance, rejected the tax. Mayor George Yukich said the push tax “hurts the business,” per theChicago Tribune.

The village board was informed by Mike Pappas, an executive for Accel Entertainment, that a push tax and mdash could persuade gamblers to travel to other towns that don’t levy taxes, yet for as little as one penny.

Oak Lawn has benefited from the drive duty, for what it’s worth. Because of it, it anticipates generating an additional$ 1 million in annual revenue.

Illinois receives sizable revenue earnings from VGTs.

The fact that VGTs bring in a ton of money is the main cause of the conflict. Perhaps a 1 % tax can yield enormous returns in the future.

At 29%, the state is getting a hefty cut. And in September, VGTs generated$61.3 million in state tax revenue for Illinois.

For reference, that’s only about $10 million less than what sports betting has produced for the state in its lifespan.

What more did HB 3136 contain?

HB 3136 is a significant bill that contains some fundamental changes for the Illinois gaming industry.

In addition to the push tax, there are a few key sports betting changes.

The bill provides a firm end date for in-person sports betting membership, which is perhaps the most important feature. Although it could stop earlier, that is March 5, 2022.

The bill also legalizes betting on Illinois college teams, which wasn’t allowed previously. However, there is an in-person stipulation, meaning Illinoisans will have to visit a retail sportsbook in order to place one of these bets. Live wagers also aren’t permitted.

Additionally, Wintrust Arena would be able to apply for a financial sports betting registration thanks to the bill. The policy is currently pending Illinois Governor. Signature of JB Pritzker & rsquo.