IGB Meeting Update: July 2023

Every month, the Illinois Gaming Board (“IGB”) meets to discuss any changes in the Illinois gaming market and issue licensing and disciplinary decisions. What follows is a repost of the notes by our friends at Fox Rothschild in their “At Stake” Newsletter. You can also find official IGB meeting minutes on the IGB website. The minutes of each IGB meeting are typically posted following the next scheduled meeting of the Board.

The IGB held its monthly meeting on Thursday, July 27, 2023. The meeting was hybrid with in-person accessibility at 160 N. LaSalle St., Fifth Floor Auditorium and via livestream. Board members present at this meeting included Chairman Schmadeke, Member Hayden and Member Kolar.

The open meeting session began with the approval of the minutes from the regular Board Meeting on Thursday, June 15, 2023 and continued with the Administrator’s brief comments as there were no comments from board members.

Administrator Comments

Administrator Fruchter began his comments by explaining, for the record, that the audio for the first part of the open session (prior to entering into closed session) was not entirely working for online listeners but that the board did, in fact, follow the Open Meetings Act.

Administrator Fruchter continued and stated that although there may not be as much media interest in today’s meeting, there will still be much accomplished as the IGB has been busy and hard at work.

The Administrator then shared the revenue share numbers for all industries. He stated that there are currently 13 operating casinos, nine sportsbooks and 8,348 licensed video gaming establishments operating 46,130 video gaming terminals (VGTs). Below is a breakdown of the (approximate) total taxable revenues for each industry:

Video Gaming (June)

• Total Revenue: NTI - $232 million
• State Tax Share: $67 million
• Local Tax Share: $11 million

Casino (June)

• Total Revenue: AGR - $122 million
• State Tax Share: $26 million
• Local Tax Share: $7 million

Sports Wagering (May)

• Total Revenue: Handle - $89 million
• State Tax Share: $13 million
• Local Tax Share: $990,000

All Industries (January - May/June)

• Total Revenue: $728 million
• State Tax Share: $609 million
• Local Tax Share: $118 million

Lastly, the Administrator stated that there will be no August meeting and that the next IGB meeting will be held on September 14, 2023.

Public Commentary

Kevin McGourty was on the agenda for public commentary, however, he cancelled his request and did not appear.

Casino

The casino portion of this meeting began with the Board hearing the Request for Initial Consideration of Owners License Renewal of Des Plaines Development Limited Partnership d/b/a Harrah’s Joliet Casino as part of the two-meeting requirement. This item required no Board action and a presentation will be made at the September meeting.

Next, the Board issued an initial supplier license to Kehl Management – Williamson County, LLC.

The Board then approved issued Level 1 Occupational licenses to 1) John Berendt for his role as Manager of Information Technology for Elgin Riverboat Resort d/b/a Grand Victoria Casino and 2) David Eckstein for his role as Director of Slots Operations for Par-A-Dice Gaming Corporation d/b/a Par-A-Dice Hotel Casino.

The meeting continued with the approval of 93 Level 2 and Level 3 occupational licenses and notices of denial being issued to three Level 2/ Level 3 occupational applicants.

The Administrator then issued renewals to the occupational licensees that were up for renewal and had provided updated information, timely paid their renewal fees and complied with all other requirements.

Sports Wagering

The Sports Wagering section of the meeting began with the Board granting an Initial Master Sports Wagering License to 815 Entertainment, LLC d/b/a Hard Rock Casino Rockford and an Initial Management Services Provider License to Seminole Hard Rock Digital LLC.

The meeting continued with the Administrator briefly outlining the Online Only Master Sports Wagering License – Supplementary Selection process and provided a brief history of the statutory requirements of 1) Disclosure of Bidders and 2) Identification of Winning Bidders, as required pursuant to the Statute. The Administrator provided a summary of events to date in regard to the three available licenses. The IGB held an initial selection process which resulted in no licenses being awarded. The Board then conducted another application round. There were two applications filed.  During the process one applicant withdrew, leaving one remaining applicant. At the meeting today, the Board then approved DGC IL LLC as the sole winning bidder of the Online Only Master Sports Wagering License. But this is not the grant of a license. This determination merely permits DGC to file all requisite forms to be investigated and approved for the Online MSW.

The Board then granted occupational licenses to 26 Level 2 applicants and issued notices of denial to one individual. The Administrator then granted renewals to the Level 1, 2, and 3 licensees that were up for renewal, had provided updated information to the IGB, timely paid their renewal fees, and complied with all other requirements.

Video Gaming

The Video Gaming meeting began with the denyial of an initial terminal operators license to Ramba Entertainment, LLC.

Next, the Administrator renewed the terminal handler, technician and location licensees that were up for renewal and had provided updated information to the IGB, timely paid their renewal fees, and complied with all other requirements.

The meeting continued with initial licenses being issued to 48 terminal handlers, one terminal technician, and 109 video gaming locations.

The Board then denied the applications of two locations: 1) Corral’s Tavern LLC d/b/a Corral’s Tavern LLC and 2) Vela Enterprises, Inc. d/b/a Pizza Stone Express.

The Board then issued an Economic Dissociation Notification to Accel Entertainment Gaming, LLC (Accel) regarding Sergio Flores for his alleged behavior outlined in a previously issued disciplinary complaint. Although the notice was issued to Accel, the Administrator reminded all TO’s that they would be prohibited from entering into a relationship with Mr. Flores as a result of this notice.

The meeting then concluded with the Board adopting the ALJ recommendation issued in 20 UP 007, dismissing the 320 Petition as the Board does not have jurisdiction to determine the validity of a mutual release agreement.

Reminder that there is no August meeting and the next meeting is September 14, 2023. If you have any questions about topics discussed that today’s meeting please reach out. We hope you enjoy the rest of your summer!