The Chicago City Council voted 33-15 on Wednesday against a proposal that would have prohibited sweepstakes machines across the city, siding with concerns raised by the administration of Mayor Brandon Johnson.
An estimated 7,000 unlicensed sweepstakes machines currently operate in Chicago businesses, including bars, restaurants, gas stations, convenience stores and laundromats. The machines are particularly concentrated in neighborhoods on the city’s South and West sides.
The proposal was introduced by Ald. Anthony Beale of the 9th Ward, who argued that eliminating sweepstakes machines would accelerate the rollout of licensed video gambling terminals in bars and restaurants.
Beale said the transition could generate tens of millions of dollars in municipal revenue while creating additional opportunities for local businesses.
Debate centers on tax revenue and regulation
Opponents of the measure questioned whether replacing sweepstakes machines with licensed video gambling terminals would deliver meaningful financial returns for the city.
Ald. Jason Ervin of the 28th Ward argued that taxpayers would receive only a limited share of gambling proceeds.
“We’re tripping over $100 bills to pick up nickels,” Ervin said. “Because that’s what we get from a (video gaming terminal) machine: 5 cents on the dollar.”
Sweepstakes machines resemble video poker terminals and operate in a similar manner. However, they award tickets that can be redeemed for cash or merchandise, placing them within what officials have long described as a legal gray area. Neither the city nor the state collects taxes from those machines.
Beale maintained that allowing sweepstakes machines to continue operating alongside licensed video poker, blackjack and slot terminals creates an uneven environment for businesses that comply with gaming regulations.
Ivan Capifali, Commissioner of the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection, told alderpersons that the department lacks both the legal authority and resources to directly remove sweepstakes machines. He said the city instead often cites businesses operating the devices for unrelated violations of municipal rules.
Video gambling expansion remains under scrutiny
Discussions over whether to legalize or prohibit sweepstakes machines have circulated at City Hall for more than a decade without producing a lasting policy outcome.
The issue resurfaced during the city’s latest budget discussions and following the City Council’s approval of video gambling as part of Chicago’s 2026 spending plan, which took effect despite objections from Johnson.
The city’s budget projects $6.8 million in revenue from video gambling. The estimate assumes that 3,300 bars and restaurants could install up to six machines each, resulting in approximately 19,800 terminals citywide.
For comparison, state law allows Bally’s permanent Chicago casino to operate up to 4,000 gaming terminals.
Earlier this week, Johnson and allied council members abandoned an effort to overturn the authorization of video poker and slot machines throughout the city.
According to records, the Illinois Gaming Board approved video gambling licenses on June 11 for three Mount Greenwood taverns — Bar 106, Lawlor’s Bar and Hippo’s Bar — as well as Cork and Kerry in Beverly, Half Sour in the Loop and Eggsperience in Lakeview.
Those establishments must still obtain city licenses before offering gambling activities.
Bally’s raises concerns over market impact
While city finance officials have estimated that legalizing video gambling could reduce municipal revenue by $3 million based on consultant findings, Beale said he expects the change to generate approximately $100 million annually for Chicago.
More than 285 bars and restaurants in the city have submitted requests to state regulators seeking permission to offer video gambling.
In a letter sent to council members on Wednesday, Bally’s Vice President Christopher Jewett warned that widespread video gambling in bars and restaurants could affect the economics of the company’s permanent casino project in River West, now expected to open in early 2027 after a delay from its original September target.
“Authorization of (video gaming terminals) at this scale is a permanent transformation of the city’s gaming landscape,” Jewett wrote.
Jewett said Bally’s could stop making annual $4 million payments to the city required under the casino agreement signed in 2022 if video gambling terminals become widely available throughout Chicago.
He also stated that more than half of the 3,000 permanent jobs planned for the casino project could be eliminated.
“Should the City Council fail to remedy the ill-advised decision to approve (video gaming terminals) licenses, you will have placed all of these commitments in immediate jeopardy,” Jewett wrote. “We remain open to further dialogue to remedy the harm caused by this decision. Absent urgent action by the City Council, however, we will have no choice but to pursue all available legal remedies.”
Separately, Ald. Bennett Lawson of the 44th Ward withdrew a proposal that would have directed the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection to expedite city video gambling licensing approvals following state authorization.
The City Council has also yet to act on a measure approved by the License and Consumer Protection Committee in March that would prohibit video gambling in bars and restaurants located within six wards, challenging a longstanding practice that gives alderpersons authority over licensing decisions in their respective wards.