Illinois Moves to Add 50,000 Video Gambling Machines to Self-Exclusion List

CHICAGO — The Illinois Gaming Board voted unanimously Thursday to extend the state's voluntary self-exclusion program to the roughly 50,000 video gambling terminals scattered through bars, truck stops and hair salons, closing what regulators call the largest remaining gap in a list that already covers casinos, sportsbooks and the state Lottery.

The proposed rules, approved at the board's Oct. 22 meeting, would end direct cash play on the machines. Players would instead buy vouchers at a redemption terminal — with cash or through a digital video gaming account — and both routes would require identity verification confirming the player is at least 21 and not on the self-exclusion list.

"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," Gaming Board Administrator Marcus Fruchter said in a statement. In a separate release he called the move "a gaming integrity and public health priority," adding that nothing like it has been attempted at the scale of Illinois' video gaming market, which regulators describe as the largest network of its kind in the world.

What changes at the machine

Under the proposal, a slot-style terminal would no longer take bills. A player would walk to the redemption kiosk, verify identity, and receive a printed voucher. Using a video gaming account would remain optional; someone who wants to keep paying cash can still do so after the kiosk checks their identification.

Operators that choose to offer accounts would have to build in responsible-gaming limits that each patron sets for themselves, block self-excluded gamblers from opening accounts, and stop sending them promotional material. Player reward programs would remain legal, but only for people who are not on the list. Accounts would carry know-your-customer and anti-money-laundering requirements, along with privacy and security standards the board said it will define during rulemaking.

Separately, the board revised program rules in September to create tiered enrollment periods, add enrollment channels and establish a voluntary 12-month marketing exclusion list — changes aimed at people who want to stop receiving casino and sportsbook advertising rather than stop gambling entirely.

The cashless trade-off

Removing cash from the transaction solves two problems regulators have talked about for years: machine burglaries and the difficulty of enforcing a self-ban at a device that accepts anonymous bills.

It also removes friction, and that is the part public health researchers watch. Capitol News Illinois reported that Acres Manufacturing, a Las Vegas company selling cashless betting technology, ran a six-month case study finding that cashless gamblers bought 92 percent more gambling credits per session and were more likely to add money than players paying cash. Fruchter said the board's motive was bringing video gambling in line with the rest of the industry and improving money-laundering controls, not reducing theft, though he acknowledged fewer cash-filled machines could be a byproduct.

The evidence on self-exclusion itself is mixed but not discouraging. Studies of casino-operated programs have generally found that people who enroll report less gambling and better mental health while enrolled, with relapse common after the period ends — which is why Illinois has been lengthening enrollment terms rather than treating a ban as a cure. For people whose gambling has already produced debt, family disruption or co-occurring anxiety and depression, self-exclusion works best alongside treatment for gambling disorder rather than as a substitute for it.

A year before anything changes

The rules now go to the General Assembly's Joint Committee on Administrative Rules. That review typically runs six months to a year and includes a public comment period, meaning no machine changes behavior before late 2027 at the earliest. The board can amend the proposal in response to comments, and the cashless account provisions — the most technically complicated section — are the likeliest to be revised.

Illinois legalized video gambling in 2009 as an infrastructure funding mechanism and now runs the largest such network in the country. The gap became harder to defend as sports betting and online casino-style games expanded: a person could ban themselves from every regulated product in the state except the machines at the end of the bar.

Why the coverage gap mattered

Illinois' self-exclusion list had grown to include casinos, sports wagering, fantasy contests and the Lottery, but not video gaming, which regulators had flagged in a September resolution as a public health priority. Treatment providers in the state have argued for years that video gambling is where many of their patients' problems begin — smaller bets, constant availability, no surveillance, and a machine that pays out in cash at the counter.

Whether identity checks at the kiosk will actually stop a determined gambler is an open question. A person can buy a voucher from someone else, and enforcement depends on operators who have a financial interest in volume. The board's answer is that the kiosk requirement creates a record where none existed, and that a self-ban a person cannot easily route around is worth more than one they can.

For now, the practical advice for Illinois residents who want to be excluded from video gambling is to wait for the rule to take effect and, in the meantime, use the current list for casinos and sportsbooks. People who need help sooner can call the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, which routes callers to local crisis services, or speak with a clinician about outpatient treatment options that include gambling-specific therapy.