Metro-east spent 35 percent more money on video gaming in 2016

The metro-east spent about 35 percent more on video game terminals in 2016, compared to 2015.

In a sample of 13 locations, metro-east residents spent $99 million in 2016, up from $74 million in 2015.

The sample includes Belleville, Collinsville, Fairview Heights, Granite City, Highland, O’Fallon and Swansea, as well as the unincorporated areas in Bond, Clinton, Madison, Monroe, Randolph and St. Clair Counties.

Video gaming is not allowed in Edwardsville.

The information, from the Illinois Gaming Board, shows that the number of terminals increased in those locations to 181 from 154. The amount of money collected per terminal also increased, to an average of $548,000 in 2016, up from $479,000 in 2015.

The marked increase in video-gaming passion did not follow any significant uptick in the amount of money people won, however. Data from the sample size show gamblers won back 73.0 percent of the money they fed terminals in 2016, compared to 72.2 percent in 2015.

The machines in the sample size paid out about $72 million in 2016, up from about $53 million in 2016.

In 2016, the same machines garnered $1.3 million for municipalities and $6.7 million for the state. In 2015, the machines took $1 million for municipalities and $5.1 million for the state.

This story was originally published January 26, 2017 at 8:00 AM with the headline "Metro-east spent 35 percent more money on video gaming in 2016."