Bill Text: IL HB5791 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Video Gaming Act. Provides that an applicant or licensee under the Act is not in violation of the Act or specified rules and shall not be subject to disciplinary action for operating a gaming device if operation of the gaming device is in compliance with and not considered gambling under the Criminal Code of 2012. Provides for the creation of a Gaming Disparity Task Force to conduct a disparity and availability study. Provides that the Task Force shall compile, collect, or otherwise gather data necessary for the determination of the impact on minorities within the video gaming industry. Allows the Task Force to impose fees for the Task Force's operation collected by the Illinois Gaming Board on terminal operations that general more than $5,000,000, including for specified payments to a minority business enterprise-owed terminal operator. Amends the Criminal Code of 2012. Changes the definition of "gambling device" to include any vending or other electronic machine or device, including, without limitation, a machine or device that awards credits and contains a circuit, meter, or switch capable of removing and recording the removal of credits that is connected directly or indirectly to the Internet, either by cellular modem, hard wire, or wireless connection, or to a set of interconnected networked devices in order to participate in the game or contest or to receive or retrieve any data related to the device unless the connected device is a redemption vault and does not operate with a self-contained fill system that permits the operation of the device solely determined on a fee basis or the amount of revenue generated, but does not include a system based on time, number of spins or spin equivalent, or other nonrevenue based system, and automatically ceases to operate upon the completion of a pre-determined cycle. Provides that participants in a game of skill or chance where money or other things of value can be won but no payment or purchase is required to participate shall not be convicted of gambling except where participation in such game of skill or chance is accomplished using a gambling device prohibited by law. Provides that a gambling offense involving such a gambling device is a Class 4 felony. Effective immediately.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-05-16 - Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Maurice A. West, II [HB5791 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-HB5791-Introduced.html

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103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB5791 Introduced , by Rep. Kam Buckner SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
See Index
Amends the Video Gaming Act. Provides that an applicant or licensee under the Act is not in violation of the Act or specified rules and shall not be subject to disciplinary action for operating a gaming device if operation of the gaming device is in compliance with and not considered gambling under the Criminal Code of 2012. Provides for the creation of a Gaming Disparity Task Force to conduct a disparity and availability study. Provides that the Task Force shall compile, collect, or otherwise gather data necessary for the determination of the impact on minorities within the video gaming industry. Allows the Task Force to impose fees for the Task Force's operation collected by the Illinois Gaming Board on terminal operations that general more than $5,000,000, including for specified payments to a minority business enterprise-owed terminal operator. Amends the Criminal Code of 2012. Changes the definition of "gambling device" to include any vending or other electronic machine or device, including, without limitation, a machine or device that awards credits and contains a circuit, meter, or switch capable of removing and recording the removal of credits that is connected directly or indirectly to the Internet, either by cellular modem, hard wire, or wireless connection, or to a set of interconnected networked devices in order to participate in the game or contest or to receive or retrieve any data related to the device unless the connected device is a redemption vault and does not operate with a self-contained fill system that permits the operation of the device solely determined on a fee basis or the amount of revenue generated, but does not include a system based on time, number of spins or spin equivalent, or other nonrevenue based system, and automatically ceases to operate upon the completion of a pre-determined cycle. Provides that participants in a game of skill or chance where money or other things of value can be won but no payment or purchase is required to participate shall not be convicted of gambling except where participation in such game of skill or chance is accomplished using a gambling device prohibited by law. Provides that a gambling offense involving such a gambling device is a Class 4 felony. Effective immediately.
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A BILL FOR
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AN ACT concerning gaming.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Video Gaming Act is amended by changing
Section 35 and by adding Section 76 as follows:
(230 ILCS 40/35)
Sec. 35. Display of license; confiscation; violation as
felony.
(a) Each video gaming terminal shall be licensed by the
Board before placement or operation on the premises of a
licensed establishment, licensed truck stop establishment,
licensed large truck stop establishment, licensed fraternal
establishment, or licensed veterans establishment. The license
of each video gaming terminal shall be maintained at the
location where the video gaming terminal is operated. Failure
to do so is a petty offense with a fine not to exceed $100. Any
licensed establishment, licensed truck stop establishment,
licensed large truck stop establishment, licensed fraternal
establishment, or licensed veterans establishment used for the
conduct of gambling games in violation of this Act shall be
considered a gambling place in violation of Section 28-3 of
the Criminal Code of 2012. Every gambling device found in a
licensed establishment, licensed truck stop establishment,

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licensed large truck stop establishment, licensed fraternal
establishment, or licensed veterans establishment operating
gambling games in violation of this Act shall be subject to
seizure, confiscation, and destruction as provided in Section
28-5 of the Criminal Code of 2012. Any license issued under the
Liquor Control Act of 1934 to any owner or operator of a
licensed establishment, licensed truck stop establishment,
licensed large truck stop establishment, licensed fraternal
establishment, or licensed veterans establishment that
operates or permits the operation of a video gaming terminal
within its establishment in violation of this Act shall be
immediately revoked. No person may own, operate, have in his
or her possession or custody or under his or her control, or
permit to be kept in any place under his or her possession or
control, any device that awards credits and contains a
circuit, meter, or switch capable of removing and recording
the removal of credits when the award of credits is dependent
upon chance.
Nothing in this Section shall be deemed to prohibit the
use of a game device only if the game device is used in an
activity that is not gambling under subsection (b) of Section
28-1 of the Criminal Code of 2012. An applicant or licensee
under this Act is not in violation of this Act or any of the
Illinois Gaming Board rules specific to Illinois Gaming Board
Rule 1800.420 and shall not be subject to disciplinary action,
delay of any Board consideration, or denial of any license for

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operating a gaming device if operation of the gaming device is
in compliance with, and not considered gambling under,
subsection (b) of Section 28-1 or item (iii) of subsection (a)
28-2 of the Criminal Code of 2012.
A violation of this Section is a Class 4 felony. All
devices that are owned, operated, or possessed in violation of
this Section are hereby declared to be public nuisances and
shall be subject to seizure, confiscation, and destruction as
provided in Section 28-5 of the Criminal Code of 2012.
The provisions of this Section do not apply to devices or
electronic video game terminals licensed pursuant to this Act.
A video gaming terminal operated for amusement only and
bearing a valid amusement tax sticker shall not be subject to
this Section until 30 days after the Board establishes that
the central communications system is functional.
(b) (1) The odds of winning each video game shall be posted
on or near each video gaming terminal. The manner in which the
odds are calculated and how they are posted shall be
determined by the Board by rule.
(2) No video gaming terminal licensed under this Act may
be played except during the legal hours of operation allowed
for the consumption of alcoholic beverages at the licensed
establishment, licensed fraternal establishment, or licensed
veterans establishment. A licensed establishment, licensed
fraternal establishment, or licensed veterans establishment
that violates this subsection is subject to termination of its

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license by the Board.
(Source: P.A. 101-31, eff. 6-28-19.)
(230 ILCS 40/76 new)
Sec. 76. Gaming Disparity Task Force.
(a) The Gaming Disparity Task Force is created. The
Governor shall appoint 5 members, including the Chair. The
Chair shall set the agenda and staff the Task Force and take
all other actions necessary to complete the mission of
identifying disparities in the video gambling industry.
(b) The Task Force may:
(1) maintain a staff;
(2) make recommendations for policy, statute, and rule
changes;
(3) collect data both in Illinois and outside Illinois
regarding the regulation of gaming and quasi-gaming,
including requiring terminal operators to submit detailed
information regarding ownership, revenues, and moneys
spent on goods and services and any other information
deemed necessary to identify disparities in gaming and
lack of minority business enterprise participation;
(4) compile or assist in the compilation of any
reports required by this Act;
(5) ensure the coordination of efforts between various
State agencies involved in regulating and taxing gaming or
quasi-gaming in Illinois; and

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(6) encourage, promote, suggest, and report best
practices for ensuring diversity in the gaming and
quasi-gaming industry in Illinois.
(c) Any funding required for the Task Force, its staff, or
its activities shall be drawn from a fee determined by the Task
Force and collected by the Illinois Gaming Board to be paid by
terminal operators that generate at least $5,000,000 of net
terminal income in any given month.
(d) The Task Force shall commission and publish an annual
disparity and availability study that: (1) evaluates whether
there exists discrimination in the State's gaming industry;
and (2) if so, evaluates the impact of such discrimination on
the State and includes recommendations to the Illinois Gaming
Board for reducing or eliminating any identified barriers to
entry in the video gaming market.
The Task Force may compile, collect, or otherwise gather
data necessary for the administration of this Section and to
carry out the Task Force's duty relating to the recommendation
of policy changes.
(e) The Task Force shall hold public meetings and issue
subpoenas, if necessary, for testimony.
(f) The Task Force shall submit a copy of the annual study
to the General Assembly no later than February 1 of each year
in the manner provided for reports to the General Assembly
under Section 3.1 of the General Assembly Organization Act.
(g) From any fees collected under subsection (c), the Task

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Force shall set aside payment to a minority business
enterprise-owned terminal operator as provided in this
subsection. The Task Force shall direct the Illinois Gaming
Board to approve a minority business enterprise to receive the
payment as a licensee or person of significant control.
Payment to the minority business enterprise shall commence
upon the filing of forms with the Illinois Gaming Board as
designated by the Board. The Task Force shall calculate the
percentage of the fees collected under subsection (c) that
shall be set aside to pay to the minority business
enterprise-owned terminal operation by calculating the
percentage of Illinois' population of the minority group or
minority groups of which the minority person or persons who
own the terminal operation are part. As used in this
subsection, "minority person" has the meaning given to that
term in Section 8.12 of the Business Corporation Act of 1983.
(h) The Task Force shall establish a process for the
sunset of devices exempted under paragraph (13) of subsection
(b) of Section 28-1 of the Criminal Code of 2012 and Section 35
of the Video Gaming Act. The Task Force shall consider such
factors deemed reasonably necessary to rectify disparities in
gaming when developing the sunset process. The Task Force
shall include, at a minimum, in the process: the authorization
of video gambling in any municipality with a population more
than 2,000,000 people; the opportunity for all statutorily
eligible establishments in any municipality with a population

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more than 2,000,000 people to apply for a video gaming
license; consideration and determination by the Illinois
Gaming Board of all statutorily eligible establishments in any
municipality with a population more than 2,000,000 people that
applied for a video gaming license and any denied applicant
had an opportunity to exhaust all administrative and judicial
remedies; all eligible and licensed minority establishments in
any municipality with a population more than 2,000,000 people
has been authorized to commence gambling by the Illinois
Gaming Board; and following an independent auditor, selected
by the Task Force pursuant to the request-for-proposal
process, issues a report documenting that there is a majority
of licensed establishments operated by a minority business
enterprise terminal operator in any municipality with a
population more than 2,000,000 people.
Section 10. The Criminal Code of 2012 is amended by
changing Sections 28-1 and 28-2 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

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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
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

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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
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,

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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.
(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) 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.

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(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.
(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

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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
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, except where participation in
such game of skill or chance is accomplished using a
gambling device prohibited by item (a)(iii) of Section
28-2.
(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

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U.S.C. 1463).
(15) Sports wagering when conducted in accordance with
the Sports Wagering Act.
(c) Sentence.
(1) Gambling is a Class A misdemeanor. A second or
subsequent conviction under subsections (a)(3) through
(a)(12), is a Class 4 felony.
(2) Notwithstanding subsection (c)(1), or anything
else contained in this Section to the contrary, a gambling
offense involving a device described in item (a)(iii)
Section 28-2 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.)
(720 ILCS 5/28-2) (from Ch. 38, par. 28-2)
Sec. 28-2. Definitions.
(a) A "gambling device" is (i) any clock, tape machine,
slot machine or other machines or device for the reception of
money or other thing of value on chance or skill or upon the
action of which money or other thing of value is staked,
hazarded, bet, won, or lost; (ii) or any mechanism, furniture,

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fixture, equipment, or other device designed primarily for use
in a gambling place; or (iii) any vending or other electronic
machine or device, including, without limitation a machine or
device that awards credits and contains a circuit, meter, or
switch capable of removing and recording the removal of
credits or that is connected directly or indirectly to the
Internet, either by cellular modem, hard wire, or wireless
connection, or to a set of interconnected networked devices in
order to participate in the game or contest or to receive or
retrieve any data related to the device unless the connected
device is a redemption vault; or does not operate with a
self-contained fill system that permits the operation of the
device solely determined on a fee basis or the amount of
revenue generated but does not include a system based on time,
number of spins or spin equivalent or other nonrevenue based
system, and automatically ceases to operate upon the
completion of a pre-determined cycle. A "gambling device" does
not include:
(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) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection

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(a), a vending machine Vending machines 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. For the purposes of this paragraph
(3), a "crane game" is an amusement device involving
skill, if it rewards the player exclusively with
merchandise contained within the amusement device proper
and limited to toys, novelties, and prizes other than
currency, each having a wholesale value which is not more
than $25.
(4) A redemption machine. For the purposes of this
paragraph (4), a "redemption machine" is 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, provided that all of the following conditions are
met:
(A) The outcome of the game is predominantly

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determined by the skill of the player.
(B) 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.
(C) Only merchandise prizes are awarded.
(D) The wholesale value of prizes awarded in lieu
of tickets or tokens for single play of the device does
not exceed $25.
(E) 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.
(5) Video gaming terminals at a licensed
establishment, licensed truck stop establishment, licensed
large truck stop establishment, licensed fraternal
establishment, or licensed veterans establishment licensed
in accordance with the Video Gaming Act.
(a-5) "Internet" means an interactive computer service or
system or an information service, system, or access software
provider that provides or enables computer access by multiple
users to a computer server, and includes, but is not limited
to, an information service, system, or access software
provider that provides access to a network system commonly
known as the Internet, or any comparable system or service and
also includes, but is not limited to, a World Wide Web page,

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newsgroup, message board, mailing list, or chat area on any
interactive computer service or system or other online
service.
(a-6) "Access" has the meaning ascribed to the term in
Section 17-55.
(a-7) "Computer" has the meaning ascribed to the term in
Section 17-0.5.
(b) A "lottery" is any scheme or procedure whereby one or
more prizes are distributed by chance among persons who have
paid or promised consideration for a chance to win such
prizes, whether such scheme or procedure is called a lottery,
raffle, gift, sale, or some other name, excluding 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).
(c) A "policy game" is any scheme or procedure whereby a
person promises or guarantees by any instrument, bill,
certificate, writing, token, or other device that any
particular number, character, ticket, or certificate shall in
the event of any contingency in the nature of a lottery entitle
the purchaser or holder to receive money, property, or
evidence of debt.
(Source: P.A. 101-31, eff. 6-28-19; 101-87, eff. 1-1-20;
102-558, eff. 8-20-21.)

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Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.
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INDEX
Statutes amended in order of appearance