Truck stops tend to be one of the most successful types of gaming establishments in Illinois. They are considered a traditional type of establishment.
Many truck stop owners manage more than one truck stop location. In that case, each individual truck stop needs to be licensed separately for video gaming. However, if common ownership among the truck stops exists, the common owners will only need to be fingerprinted* and investigated once. A new application will still need to be submitted, but the investigation process will likely be much shorter due to the owner(s) already being fingerprinted and vetted.
If you own a truck stop or a collection of truck stops and want to see if adding slot machines to your business can boost your revenue, there are three main requirements your location(s) must meet.
Requirements truck stops must meet
1. Be in a municipality that allows video gaming.
In order to qualify to become a licensed truck stop in Illinois you must first ensure you are in a municipality that allows video gaming. Click here to view a list of all Illinois municipalities and whether or not they allow video gaming. Please note this list does not contain the specific requirements of each municipality and there may be additional requirements imposed by your municipality. We encourage you to reach out to your municipality to ensure that your location qualifies under your municipality’s requirements.
It should also be considered that some of these municipalities have additional requirements for truck stops to obtain a license. These requirements can become somewhat complex and change often.
2. Provide an Affidavit that confirms your facility meets certain requirements.
In short, this includes being situated on at least three acres of land, having a convenience store, having separate diesel islands, having parking for commercial motor vehicles and having an average monthly sales of more than 10,000 gallons of diesel or biodiesel (shown by estimated future sales or past sales). Click here to view the Affidavit.
3. Pass a background investigation.
The owner(s) and/or officer(s) of your truck stop will need to pass a background investigation conducted by the Illinois Gaming Board prior to obtaining a license. The licensing process can often become more complex depending on a variety of factor
*Fingerprints are only valid for a one (1) year period. If the new owner(s/officer(s) wish to submit a new truck stop licensed establishment application following the expiration of the one (1) year period, they will need to be fingerprinted again.