Bill Text: IL HB2724 | 2025-2026 | 104th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Creates the Family Amusement Wagering Prohibition Act. Prohibits an owner or operator of a family amusement establishment from facilitating wagering on amusement devices. Prohibits a family amusement establishment from engaging in advertising that promotes wagering on amusement devices. Provides that nothing in the Act prohibits a family amusement establishment from offering certain types of games. Defines terms. Amends the Criminal Code of 2012. Makes changes in provisions concerning gaming and syndicated gaming. Effective immediately.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-02-05 - Filed with the Clerk by Rep. Daniel Didech [HB2724 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2025-HB2724-Introduced.html

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104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 HB2724 Introduced , by Rep. Daniel Didech SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
New Act
720 ILCS 5/28-1 from Ch. 38, par. 28-1
720 ILCS 5/28-1.1 from Ch. 38, par. 28-1.1
Creates the Family Amusement Wagering Prohibition Act. Prohibits an owner or operator of a family amusement establishment from facilitating wagering on amusement devices. Prohibits a family amusement establishment from engaging in advertising that promotes wagering on amusement devices. Provides that nothing in the Act prohibits a family amusement establishment from offering certain types of games. Defines terms. Amends the Criminal Code of 2012. Makes changes in provisions concerning gaming and syndicated gaming. Effective immediately.
LRB104 12064 LNS 22159 b
A BILL FOR
HB2724 LRB104 12064 LNS 22159 b
AN ACT concerning gaming.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Family
Amusement Wagering Prohibition Act.
Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act:
"Advertise" means to engage in promotional activities,
including, but not limited to, newspaper, radio, Internet and
electronic media, and television advertising, the distribution
of fliers and circulars, billboard advertising, and the
display of window and interior signs.
"Amusement device" means a game or machine which a person
activates by inserting or using currency or a coin, card,
coupon, slug, token, or similar device, and the person playing
or operating the game or machine impacts the outcome of the
game. "Amusement device" includes games of skill, games of
chance, and games of a combination of skill and chance.
"Amusement device" does not include a device certified by the
Illinois Gaming Board to be operated by an Illinois Gaming
Board licensee.
"Crane game" means an amusement device involving skill, if
it rewards the player exclusively with merchandise contained
within the amusement device proper and limited to toys,

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novelties, and prizes other than currency, each having a
wholesale value which is not more than $25.
"Facilitate" means the aiding, abetting, assisting,
inciting, or inducing the wagering on the outcome of any game
or contest on any amusement devices by any person.
"Family amusement establishment" means a place of business
with amusement devices on the premises.
"Merchandise" means noncash prizes maintained on the
premises by the family amusement establishment, including toys
and novelties. "Merchandise" does not include any prize or
other item, if the exchange or conversion to cash or a cash
equivalent is facilitated or permitted by the family amusement
establishment.
"Redemption machine" means a single-player or multi-player
amusement device involving a game, the object of which is
throwing, rolling, bowling, shooting, placing, or propelling a
ball or other object that is either physical or computer
generated on a display or with lights into, upon, or against a
hole or other target that is either physical or computer
generated on a display or with lights, or stopping, by
physical, mechanical, or electronic means, a moving object
that is either physical or computer generated on a display or
with lights into, upon, or against a hole or other target that
is either physical or computer generated on a display or with
lights, if all of the following conditions are met:
(1) The outcome of the game is predominantly

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determined by the skill of the player.
(2) The award of the prize is based solely upon the
player's achieving the object of the game or otherwise
upon the player's score.
(3) Only merchandise prizes are awarded.
(4) The wholesale value of prizes awarded in lieu of
tickets or tokens for single play of the device does not
exceed $25.
(5) The redemption value of tickets, tokens, and other
representations of value, which may be accumulated by
players to redeem prizes of greater value, for a single
play of the device does not exceed $25.
"Wager" means a sum of money or thing of value risked on an
uncertain outcome.
Section 10. Wagering facilitation prohibited. No owner or
operator of a family amusement establishment shall facilitate
wagering on amusement devices. Facilitating wagering on
amusement devices includes, but is not limited to, taking any
action that knowingly allows any entity to facilitate wagering
on amusement devices on the family amusement establishment's
premises.
Section 15. Wagering advertising prohibited. No owner or
operator of a family amusement establishment shall engage in
advertising that promotes wagering on amusement devices.

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Section 20. Exemptions. Nothing in this Act shall prohibit
a family amusement establishment from offering:
(1) a coin-in-the-slot operated mechanical device
played for amusement which rewards the player with the
right to replay such mechanical device, which device is so
constructed or devised as to make such result of the
operation thereof depend in part upon the skill of the
player and which returns to the player thereof no money,
property, or right to receive money or property;
(2) a vending machine by which full and adequate
return is made for the money invested and in which there is
no element of chance or hazard;
(3) a crane game;
(4) a redemption machine; or
(5) a bona fide game or contest where the participants
pay a fixed entry fee to enter and engage in a game or
contest at a scheduled date and time that predominantly
involves skill, speed, accuracy, strength, or endurance of
the persons entering and participating in the game or
contest and one or more of the participants may win a
prize, award, or compensation to be paid from the entry
fees collected to the actual contestants in the game or
contest.
Section 25. The Criminal Code of 2012 is amended by

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changing Sections 28-1 and 28-1.1 as follows:
(720 ILCS 5/28-1) (from Ch. 38, par. 28-1)
Sec. 28-1. Gambling.
(a) A person commits gambling when he or she:
(1) knowingly plays a game of chance or skill for
money or other thing of value, unless excepted in
subsection (b) of this Section;
(2) knowingly makes a wager upon the result of any
game, contest, or any political nomination, appointment,
or election;
(3) knowingly operates, keeps, owns, uses, purchases,
exhibits, rents, sells, bargains for the sale or lease of,
manufactures, or distributes any gambling device;
(4) contracts to have or give himself or herself or
another the option to buy or sell, or contracts to buy or
sell, at a future time, any grain or other commodity
whatsoever, or any stock or security of any company, where
it is at the time of making such contract intended by both
parties thereto that the contract to buy or sell, or the
option, whenever exercised, or the contract resulting
therefrom, shall be settled, not by the receipt or
delivery of such property, but by the payment only of
differences in prices thereof; however, the issuance,
purchase, sale, exercise, endorsement, or guarantee, by or
through a person registered with the Secretary of State

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pursuant to Section 8 of the Illinois Securities Law of
1953, or by or through a person exempt from such
registration under said Section 8, of a put, call, or
other option to buy or sell securities which have been
registered with the Secretary of State or which are exempt
from such registration under Section 3 of the Illinois
Securities Law of 1953 is not gambling within the meaning
of this paragraph (4);
(5) knowingly owns or possesses any book, instrument,
or apparatus by means of which bets or wagers have been, or
are, recorded or registered, or knowingly possesses any
money which he has received in the course of a bet or
wager;
(6) knowingly sells pools upon the result of any game
or contest of skill or chance, political nomination,
appointment, or election;
(7) knowingly sets up or promotes any lottery or
sells, offers to sell, or transfers any ticket or share
for any lottery;
(8) knowingly sets up or promotes any policy game or
sells, offers to sell, or knowingly possesses or transfers
any policy ticket, slip, record, document, or other
similar device;
(9) knowingly drafts, prints, or publishes any lottery
ticket or share, or any policy ticket, slip, record,
document, or similar device, except for such activity

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related to lotteries, bingo games, and raffles authorized
by and conducted in accordance with the laws of Illinois
or any other state or foreign government;
(10) knowingly advertises any lottery or policy game,
except for such activity related to lotteries, bingo
games, and raffles authorized by and conducted in
accordance with the laws of Illinois or any other state;
(11) knowingly transmits information as to wagers,
betting odds, or changes in betting odds by telephone,
telegraph, radio, semaphore, or similar means; or
knowingly installs or maintains equipment for the
transmission or receipt of such information; except that
nothing in this subdivision (11) prohibits transmission or
receipt of such information for use in news reporting of
sporting events or contests; or
(12) knowingly establishes, maintains, or operates an
Internet site that permits a person to play a game of
chance or skill for money or other thing of value by means
of the Internet or to make a wager upon the result of any
game, contest, political nomination, appointment, or
election by means of the Internet. This item (12) does not
apply to activities referenced in items (6), (6.1), (8),
(8.1), and (15) of subsection (b) of this Section; or .
(13) knowingly facilitates wagering on amusement
devices or knowingly engages in advertising that promotes
wagering on amusement devices in violation of the Family

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Amusement Wagering Prohibition Act.
(b) Participants in any of the following activities shall
not be convicted of gambling:
(1) Agreements to compensate for loss caused by the
happening of chance including without limitation contracts
of indemnity or guaranty and life or health or accident
insurance.
(2) Unless prohibited by the Family Amusement Wagering
Prohibition Act, offers Offers of prizes, award, or
compensation to the actual contestants in any bona fide
contest for the determination of skill, speed, strength,
or endurance or to the owners of animals or vehicles
entered in such contest.
(3) Pari-mutuel betting as authorized by the law of
this State.
(4) Manufacture of gambling devices, including the
acquisition of essential parts therefor and the assembly
thereof, for transportation in interstate or foreign
commerce to any place outside this State when such
transportation is not prohibited by any applicable Federal
law; or the manufacture, distribution, or possession of
video gaming terminals, as defined in the Video Gaming
Act, by manufacturers, distributors, and terminal
operators licensed to do so under the Video Gaming Act.
(5) The game commonly known as "bingo", when conducted
in accordance with the Bingo License and Tax Act.

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(6) Lotteries when conducted by the State of Illinois
in accordance with the Illinois Lottery Law. This
exemption includes any activity conducted by the
Department of Revenue to sell lottery tickets pursuant to
the provisions of the Illinois Lottery Law and its rules.
(6.1) The purchase of lottery tickets through the
Internet for a lottery conducted by the State of Illinois
under the program established in Section 7.12 of the
Illinois Lottery Law.
(7) Possession of an antique slot machine that is
neither used nor intended to be used in the operation or
promotion of any unlawful gambling activity or enterprise.
For the purpose of this subparagraph (b)(7), an antique
slot machine is one manufactured 25 years ago or earlier.
(8) Raffles and poker runs when conducted in
accordance with the Raffles and Poker Runs Act.
(8.1) The purchase of raffle chances for a raffle
conducted in accordance with the Raffles and Poker Runs
Act.
(9) Charitable games when conducted in accordance with
the Charitable Games Act.
(10) Pull tabs and jar games when conducted under the
Illinois Pull Tabs and Jar Games Act.
(11) Gambling games when authorized by the Illinois
Gambling Act.
(12) Video gaming terminal games at a licensed

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establishment, licensed truck stop establishment, licensed
large truck stop establishment, licensed fraternal
establishment, or licensed veterans establishment when
conducted in accordance with the Video Gaming Act.
(13) Games of skill or chance where money or other
things of value can be won but no payment or purchase is
required to participate.
(14) Savings promotion raffles authorized under
Section 5g of the Illinois Banking Act, Section 7008 of
the Savings Bank Act, Section 42.7 of the Illinois Credit
Union Act, Section 5136B of the National Bank Act (12
U.S.C. 25a), or Section 4 of the Home Owners' Loan Act (12
U.S.C. 1463).
(15) Sports wagering when conducted in accordance with
the Sports Wagering Act.
(c) Sentence.
Gambling is a Class A misdemeanor. A second or subsequent
conviction under subsections (a)(3) through (a)(12), is a
Class 4 felony.
(d) Circumstantial evidence.
In prosecutions under this Section circumstantial evidence
shall have the same validity and weight as in any criminal
prosecution.
(Source: P.A. 101-31, Article 25, Section 25-915, eff.
6-28-19; 101-31, Article 35, Section 35-80, eff. 6-28-19;
101-109, eff. 7-19-19; 102-558, eff. 8-20-21.)

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(720 ILCS 5/28-1.1) (from Ch. 38, par. 28-1.1)
Sec. 28-1.1. Syndicated gambling.
(a) Declaration of Purpose. Recognizing the close
relationship between professional gambling and other organized
crime, it is declared to be the policy of the legislature to
restrain persons from engaging in the business of gambling for
profit in this State. This Section shall be liberally
construed and administered with a view to carrying out this
policy.
(b) A person commits syndicated gambling when he or she
operates a "policy game" or engages in the business of
bookmaking.
(c) A person "operates a policy game" when he or she
knowingly uses any premises or property for the purpose of
receiving or knowingly does receive from what is commonly
called "policy":
(1) money from a person other than the bettor or
player whose bets or plays are represented by the money;
or
(2) written "policy game" records, made or used over
any period of time, from a person other than the bettor or
player whose bets or plays are represented by the written
record.
(d) A person engages in bookmaking when he or she
knowingly receives or accepts more than 5 five bets or wagers

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upon the result of any trials or contests of skill, speed, or
power of endurance or upon any lot, chance, casualty, unknown,
or contingent event whatsoever, which bets or wagers shall be
of such size that the total of the amounts of money paid or
promised to be paid to the bookmaker on account thereof shall
exceed $2,000. Bookmaking is the receiving or accepting of
bets or wagers regardless of the form or manner in which the
bookmaker records them.
(e) Participants in any of the following activities shall
not be convicted of syndicated gambling:
(1) Agreements to compensate for loss caused by the
happening of chance, including, without limitation,
contracts of indemnity or guaranty and life or health or
accident insurance;
(2) Offers of prizes, award, or compensation to the
actual contestants in any bona fide contest for the
determination of skill, speed, strength, or endurance or
to the owners of animals or vehicles entered in the
contest, except as prohibited under the Family Amusement
Wagering Prohibition Act;
(3) Pari-mutuel betting as authorized by law of this
State;
(4) Manufacture of gambling devices, including the
acquisition of essential parts therefor and the assembly
thereof, for transportation in interstate or foreign
commerce to any place outside this State when the

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transportation is not prohibited by any applicable Federal
law;
(5) Raffles and poker runs when conducted in
accordance with the Raffles and Poker Runs Act;
(6) Gambling games conducted on riverboats, in
casinos, or at organization gaming facilities when
authorized by the Illinois Gambling Act;
(7) Video gaming terminal games at a licensed
establishment, licensed truck stop establishment, licensed
large truck stop establishment, licensed fraternal
establishment, or licensed veterans establishment when
conducted in accordance with the Video Gaming Act; and
(8) Savings promotion raffles authorized under Section
5g of the Illinois Banking Act, Section 7008 of the
Savings Bank Act, Section 42.7 of the Illinois Credit
Union Act, Section 5136B of the National Bank Act (12
U.S.C. 25a), or Section 4 of the Home Owners' Loan Act (12
U.S.C. 1463).
(f) Sentence. Syndicated gambling is a Class 3 felony.
(Source: P.A. 101-31, eff. 6-28-19.)