Illinois regulators move to bring video gambling under self-exclusion
program
[October 23, 2026]
By Maggie Dougherty
CHICAGO — Problem gamblers seeking to avoid the temptation to gamble can
ban themselves from most of the state’s gambling offerings, from casinos
to online sportsbooks to the Lottery.
But the state’s voluntary self-exclusion program does not extend to
Illinois’ extensive network of video gambling terminals — the largest in
the world — that can be found in gas stations, bars, hair salons and
hotel lobbies across the state.
Regulators are looking to change that.
The Illinois Gaming Board proposed new rules Thursday to bring the
state’s video gambling terminals under the program that allows problem
gamblers to self-ban by requiring identity verification before players
can purchase vouchers at video gambling locations.
The new rules would also create new options for cashless wagering and
player rewards programs.
Gaming Board Administrator Marcus Fruchter said the move was “another
critical step forward” in the agency’s goal to bring video gambling
under the program’s umbrella.
“We are decidedly on the right path and will continue driving forward,
but we will do so in a focused, collaborative, intentional, and
efficient manner as we advance this critical initiative,” Fruchter said.
The Gaming Board identified closing the coverage gap for video gambling
as a “public health priority,” and passed a resolution expressing its
commitment to doing so during its September meeting.
The board unanimously approved the proposed rules, sending them to the
General Assembly’s rulemaking committee for review, a process that
usually takes between six months to a year and gives opportunities for
public comment.
ID verification
The new rules would shift the way gamblers pay to play on video gambling
machines, which would no longer accept cash directly.
Instead, players would purchase vouchers from a payout device, either
with cash or with digital payments through a video gaming account. Both
options would require identity verification to confirm players are at
least 21 years old and not on the self-exclusion list.
Using a video gaming account would be voluntary, and players could still
use cash to purchase vouchers from the redemption terminal after
identity verification.
Video gambling operators that offer accounts would be required to give
players tools to set responsible gambling limits, actively keep
self-excluded gamblers from opening accounts and refrain from sending
promotional materials to those on the list. They would also be allowed
to run player reward programs for non-excluded players.
One consequence of having so many cash-filled video gambling machines
sitting in businesses across Illinois has been a rise in burglaries at
those locations.
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Slot machines light up the front window of a bar in Golconda,
Illinois. (Credit: Julia Rendleman for Capitol News Illinois)
But while decreasing the burglary risk may be a byproduct of the new
rules, Fruchter said it’s more about bringing video gambling in line
with the rest of the industry, where cashless wagering and player
accounts are standard.
Allowing digital payments also allows more options for customer controls
and money laundering prevention, Fruchter added.
However, cashless wagering can also reduce the friction for bettors,
allowing them to spend — and lose — more cash.
Acres Manufacturing, a Las Vegas-based company that released a new
cashless betting technology last year, conducted a six-month case study
on its impact.
Cashless gamblers purchased 92% more gambling credits per session and
were more likely to re-up than players paying with cash, Acres found.
“Our study makes clear that players spend significantly more when using
a cashless funding option,” Acres told the Nevada Independent.
If true more broadly, that could have major ramifications for betting
behavior in what is already Illinois’ highest-grossing source of
wagering revenue; the machines brought in more than $1 billion in state
and local tax revenue last fiscal year, with gamblers losing more than
$3.3 billion.
Fruchter said it’s one of the issues the Gaming Board wants to discuss
further in the public comment period of the rulemaking process.
Timeline
The biggest hurdle to bringing video gambling terminals under the
state’s self-exclusion program has been the technology needed to upgrade
the state’s roughly 50,000 video gaming machines to connect with the
list maintained by the state while maintaining data privacy protections.
The Gaming Board has contracted with LNW Gaming, which builds slot
machines and table games, to upgrade the state’s machines for that
purpose.
Fruchter said he was confident that the work would be ready to deploy
next year, giving the state the technological capacity to bring video
gambling terminals under the self-exclusion program.
Capitol News Illinois is
a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government
coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily
by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick
Foundation.
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