Bloomingdale follows suit with video gambling ban

Bloomingdale trustees voted unanimously to ban video gambling in the village, but officials say they won't rule out allowing it in the future.

Village Administrator Dan Wennerholm said the board on Monday followed a modified version of an ordinance adopted in Addison, where trustees voted to ban the machines until state regulations come through.

"It's not seen as a final, ultimate, forever decision," Wennerholm said Tuesday. "Basically what it provides is that ... in the off chance the gaming board comes up with the rules almost instantaneously, (it would) open the door for the machines."

In July, Gov. Pat Quinn approved a $31 billion capital improvement package that allowed video gambling. The machines are expected to bring in $367 million annually to help pay for infrastructure projects.

But towns have the ability to outlaw the machines in their communities, and Bloomingdale joins a growing list of suburbs doing just that.

Currently, the Illinois Gaming Board is developing rules that will dictate how video gambling will operate and be regulated. No date has been set as to when those rules will be submitted to the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules or adopted by the gaming board, but the board chairman has said it could be another year.

Wennerholm said the lack of rules is Bloomingdale's biggest concern. He said village leaders did not calculate the potential tax revenue that could be generated if all eligible businesses in the village with liquor licenses - roughly 30 - opted to install the five gambling machines they are allowed under law.

"Our decision wasn't based on numbers," Wennerholm said.

According to state law, counties and towns that allow video gambling will receive 5 percent of each machine's profit. The state will receive 25 percent, while establishment owners and the terminal operators split the rest.