Bartlett seeking community input on video gambling
The Bartlett village board is seeking input from businesses and residents as its members get closer to deciding whether or not to ban video gambling in the village.
After the board was presented with more information regarding video gaming at a recent meeting, acting village President Michael Airdo expressed concern in making a decision without hearing from everyone involved.
“The idea that we ban it and then somebody goes to another neighboring town and can gamble there and drink at that establishment seems to me to put our businesses at an unfair disadvantage,” Airdo said. “I really think we need to listen to what these businesses have to say.”
The public is invited to attend the next discussion on video gaming at the Economic Development Commission meeting at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 13.
In 2009, Gov. Pat Quinn signed the Video Gaming Act, making video gaming terminals legal in Illinois. The act put the Illinois Gaming Board in charge of regulating all video gaming operations, which will be allowed only a places with a valid liquor license.
The Illinois Gaming Board projects that video gaming will be operational in the state by December. If the village does not take action to approve or ban the machines by then, Bartlett businesses will automatically be allowed to begin video gambling.
Village Attorney Bryan Mraz told the board he believes if the village bans video gambling after an establishment invests in gambling equipment, it will affect the licensee’s property rights and the video gambling license may need to be grandfathered in.
“The problem is that the law is so new that there is no legal precedence,” he said.
He also recommended not charging extra licensing fees or restricting the hours a video gaming terminal can be used to less than the hours an establishment has their liquor license for, even though the board may have authority to do so.
There are 23 locations in Bartlett that qualify for a video gaming license and each establishment would be allowed a maximum of five video gaming terminals.
Experts estimate that the net income generated annually from each machine would be around $45,000.
The state will impose a 30 percent tax on the net income from each machine. If the village approves video gambling, one-sixth — or an estimated $2,250 per year — of that tax revenue will go back to the village.
This means Bartlett has potential to gain a maximum of $258,750 a year if all 23 of the qualified establishments in the village install five video gaming terminals.
A majority of nearby municipalities have already banned video gambling, while a handful are still undecided, including Hoffman Estates and Elk Grove Village. Unincorporated Kane County and South Elgin have approved gambling.
“I think we have to really consider the policy issue here of what do we envision in the future for the village of Bartlett? Is it with our particular motto? Does it fit our village values? Those types of things,” trustee Dennis Nolan said.
Airdo and the other trustees agreed that it will be important not only to listen to the businesses that could be affected, but also to the residents and community organizations that are for and against gambling.
Nolan said he hopes when public hearings or informational meetings are held regarding the issue, they will be well-attended by a variety of people.
“I don’t want this to be a situation where 50 business owners show up but only 10 residents show up, or vice versa,” he said.
A referendum is also an option, but the trustees seemed unsure about holding one.
“We obviously can’t do a referendum until November anyway, so in the meantime there’s no reason to wait and not hear from the organizations and businesses in town,” trustee Frank Napolitano said.