CHAMPAIGN, IL – (Cole Latterbach, Illinois News Network. Please click on the link for the full story. Here is an excerpt below.)
September marked the five-year anniversary of video gaming legalization in Illinois. A new report claims that the societal costs of gambling may not be worth the tax revenue.
According to the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability, Illinois received $1.3 billion in revenue from wagering in fiscal year 2017. Video gaming accounted for more than 20 percent of that. As of July 2017, there are 27,145 video gaming machines operating in Illinois. That’s more than any other state, including Nevada.
Released in August, the study, titled “Can’t Stop the One-Armed Bandits: The Effects of Access to Gambling on Crime,” found that being near at least one video gambling establishment is associated with an average 6.7 percent increase in property crime and a 7.5 percent spike in violent crime in the areas around Chicago. Despite the fact that video gaming isn’t allowed in Chicago, there are more than 10,000 machines surrounding the city. That’s the equivalent to eight casinos
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