TAGS: amusement business, coin machine business, Illinois video lottery, video poker, operator-run video lottery terminals, Illinois Gaming Board, Gene O'Shea
SPRINGFIELD, IL -- Earnings for operator-run video lottery terminals are "going hog wild," said a spokesman for the Illinois Gaming Board.
Statewide gross revenues in November, the first full month of VLT operations, exceeded $12.2 million, from which the machines kept $3.8 million. Of this, the state received 25% ($957,333) and municipalities were paid 5% ($191,466), according to a monthly IGB report. Operators and locations split the remaining balance.
Gene O'Shea told local news outlets that IGB is unsure whether per-machine totals will remain as high as current numbers indicate. | SEE STORY
But he said player confidence in state-regulated games could be generating more play and that the market has yet to hit its ceiling as new locations come online each week.