Daily Herald opinion: Latest numbers reflect the emerging realities of legalized gambling

Reasonable people can argue over whether legalized gambling will prove in the long run to be a good thing or a bad thing for Illinois. We've never been entirely comfortable with either assessment.

What we do know - intuitively as well as from the growing evidence - is that it is not a sure thing.

That conclusion is clear from Jake Griffin's analysis in Sunday's Daily Herald of the latest numbers on Illinois gambling. The short form:

• The state's $1.99 billion take in all gambling taxes for Fiscal Year 2023, which ended June 30, was a record, a 5% increase over the year before.

• Casinos generated $157 million of that. In the early days of the industry, they were generating in the range of $700 million.

• As is usual, lottery sales accounted for the largest portion of the state's gambling revenue, a healthy $872 million.

• Revenues from video gambling reached $814 million, a 6.8% increase compared to Fiscal Year 2022, but still $16 million shy of expectations.

• Sports betting generated $143 million for the state from $10.4 billion in bets, figures that intriguingly led one analyst to quip "It just seems ridiculous to have so much hype on a segment of the industry that generates so little."

• Horse racing produced just $6 million, down from $7 million the previous year.

• Revenues from casinos in Elgin and Aurora declined, as new casinos opened in Waukegan, Rockford and Danville and revenues increased in Des Plaines' Rivers Casino and others downstate.

So, the figures on the whole are generally impressive, but with some notable and clear warning signs.

With the demolition of Arlington Park, fans who appreciated the athleticism on display at the track, as well as the skills needed to accommodate varying conditions, such as jockey capabilities, track conditions, horse's history, age and health and more, can only mourn a decline in their sport that seems to suggest they were a minority compared to the overall numbers who, appearing to mostly like just the gambling, have transitioned to other options.

Even those who favor chance over skill have their limits. Increased competition from other casinos affected Elgin and Aurora, and poses a threat in Des Plaines.

"Rivers is starting to show its age," said semiretired industry consultant Kevin McGourty, "and with the new casino in Waukegan and the one opening in Chicago, I think Rivers is going to be impacted."

From a purely health-oriented point of view, the one truly promising development came in video gambling where the financial disappointment of a less than 2% shortfall from expectations could be offset by a sign that there is a limit to the appeal of the fabled "crack cocaine" of the industry.

And the bottom line remains to be found in results showing that the value of gambling as a cash cow for communities and for the state has limits. Gambling still provides substantial revenues, but - failing a continuing profusion of such whopping attractions as tonight's nearly $2 billion Mega Millions drawing - is showing some signs of leveling off. Whether that is a good thing or a bad thing depends largely on one's assessment of gambling as a social institution, but it is obviously a thing that needs to be watched and managed carefully since it offers so much evidence of being both.