The Village of Mahomet Board of Trustees will revisit discussion of video gambling within Village limits Tuesday night.
The Illinois Video Gaming Act, which was put into play in 2012, allows up to five gaming terminals to be installed in establishments licensed to serve alcohol, truck stops, veteran and fraternal halls. The Village opted out of creating local legislation in 2009 while it was discussed at the state level.
After hearing from Nick Taylor, a representative from JT Walker’s, Main Street Wingery owner Rich Minnick and Melody Gaming owner Tom Fieldler in March, Mayor Patrick Brown feels it is time to listen to other voices within the community before the board decides whether or not to vote on an ordinance to approve the gambling terminals.
The Mahomet Ministerial Alliance plans to show the Board how detrimental video gambling is to individuals and to the community.
Brian Romanowski, pastor at the First Baptist Church of Mahomet, said he is concerned with the amount of money both individuals and local communities lose through video gambling.
According to the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability, 7,920 video gaming terminals have generated $121M in net terminal income. With a 30 percent income tax, the State of Illinois has received over $30M to the Capital Projects Fund and 868 local governments have received a total of $6M in tax revenue.
Establishments with the terminals keep 35 percent of the net income while another 35 percent goes to the terminal distributor. Romanowski said this means 60 percent of dollars spent locally leave the Village.
In a 2011 Illinois Law Review article, E. Tanner Warnick discussed the State’s willingness to prey on addictive video gambling habits to produce tax dollars for the Capital Projects Fund. He notes that although the State imposes taxes on alcohol and cigarettes, these taxes are imposed as a way to deter their consumption.
“The legalization and taxation of video gambling, however, is different from that of alcohol or tobacco. The amount of tax revenue that the Illinois government derives from taxes on alcohol and tobacco is relatively small. Taxes on video gambling proceeds, on the other hand, are the largest source of funding for the $31B capital project program.”
“Thus, the Video Gaming Act gives the Illinois government an incentive to promote an activity that potentially increases addiction, insolvency and crime.”
Warnick’s research noted that increased availability of gambling terminals increases pathological gamblers and their risk for damaged relationships, large debt, suicide and job loss.
“Because problem and pathological gamblers make up a disproportionate percentage of those who use video gambling machines, Illinois lawmakers are exploiting the weaknesses of their constituents to pay for the state’s projects,” he wrote.
While Romanowski sees the business benefits of video gambling, he fears the availability of terminals locally will encourage pathological gambling in a community and establishments which boast a family-friendly atmosphere.
“My phone rings weekly with people who can’t pay their rent, utilities or can’t buy food for their kid,” he said. “We can only do so much as a church. We have limited funds to help people. Is this going to increase the problem? Who is going to pay the cost? Will the establishment set aside money for addiction counseling? For people to pay their rent, utilities or to buy food for their families?”
Currently, video gambling terminals are located just outside of Village limits at Lake of the Woods Bar and Liquors on Prairie View Road. While children are not allowed in taverns, Romanowski is concerned that children dine in restaurants within Village limits, and that Main Street Wingery is located near Sangamon Elementary School.
“If we’re going to have a community that looks like a wholesome place for families with great schools, we should have an atmosphere that protects families, not hurt them,” he said.
Main Street Wingery owner Rich Minnick said servers rarely see teenagers try to purchase alcohol because they know the rules. Minnick added servers and managers will also monitor the gambling terminals they way they do alcohol sales.
Neither Minnick or JT Walker’s owner Justin Taylor believe the legalization of video gambling within Mahomet limits will be a game changer for the amount of people who gamble already.
“It’s not like there aren’t other places to gamble,” Taylor said. “We have Vegas. Or you can drive 15 minutes into Champaign. It’s not like there is nowhere to gamble, and then you put this (in Mahomet) and people are going to start gambling like crazy. That’s highly unrealistic. People who want to gamble already have outlets to do these things.”
Before the Village raised the ban on liquor sales within Village limits, many opponents were concerned there would be an explosion of establishments serving alcohol within the Village.
According to Melody Gaming owner Tom Fieldler, establishments must have the terminals partitioned from the rest of the establishment to ensure children will not try to play them. He also noted that the law prohibits a consecutive establishments from owning terminals to discourage a “casino-feel.”
Fieldler also spoke against proposal by Champaign city officials to allow video gaming terminals in convenience stores and gas stations within the city in March. The proposal was tabled with a zero-vote.
Patrons can bet up to $20 at a time. By law, the terminal must pay-out at least 20 percent of the time. Although there are no limits on the amount of time a terminal can be played per hour or day, the maximum win is $500.
Although both Minnick and Taylor are interested in seeing if they can fit video terminals into their establishments, neither owner knows if they have enough room at this point in time. For them, this is more about giving adults an option or a choice on how they want to spend their money.
“I’m not avidly against or for gaming,” Taylor said. “My think is people should be able to make a choice. This was my point with the alcohol, too. No one is forcing it on anyone. It’s a freedom of choice for people.”
“Who are we (everyone) to say you can or cannot do something with your time and money?” Minnick said. “Maybe that’s the equivalent of going to Jupiter’s and having a child drop $40 on Skeeball to go and buy a paddle ball.”
Minnick and Taylor are feeling the way that increased spending at a State level funnels down to the restaurant industry in taxes, which in turn is returned to the customer in food and alcohol prices.
“The State of Illinois has raised tax on the sale of alcohol every year for six years in a row,” Taylor said. “We have lost money on (some alcohol products) every year because we still have to charge the same amount. People are angry if it’s more than that.”
Minnick said restaurant owners face increased costs all the time. With the drought in California, Minnick has seen beef prices rise, and he believes poultry and pork will follow. Also, with talk of raising minimum wage to $10 to $15 an hour, Minnick said without an additional revenue source, like video gambling, customers will see increases in their food and alcohol prices.
“If you look at what’s happening with the gaming industry in Champaign, a lot of (restaurants) are paying their employees almost strictly from what they make off gaming,” Minnick said. “This allows them to keep the prices the same.”
Taylor and Minnick do not see the terminals changing their focus of providing quality lunch and dinner items for their patrons. They said the terminals will just provide another avenue to pay employees, hire additional help or keep food prices where they are.
Community members are invited to share their opinions on video gaming in Mahomet during the Village Study Session on Tuesday at the Village Administration building at 6 p.m.
