Illinois bans video gaming in effort to slow coronavirus spread
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State officials are shutting down video in Illinois for the remainder of March to help limit exposure to COVID-19.
The Illinois Gaming Board ordered the suspension of all video gaming Monday, banning establishments from operating the machines until March 30. The ban went into effect at 9 a.m.
“The public health of patrons, video gaming industry employees, Gaming Board staff, and all others is of paramount importance,” Board Administrator Marcus Fruchter said in a news release.
Video game gambling raised $42.4 million in Illinois in February alone, according to the gaming board. There are about 35,484 video gaming machines in the state at roughly 7,307 establishments.
Fruchter said the board is monitoring any developments with COVID-19 and is “updating” licensees as warranted.
The ban comes just days after the Illinois Gambling Board ordered all casinos in Illinois to close for two weeks, starting today. The Casino Queen in East St. Louis, the Argosy Casino in Alton and eight others are affected.
The decision follows a cascade of announcements that everything from schools to major sporting events must shut down in an effort to prevent the spread of a new coronavirus.
Illinois casinos produced $377 million in revenue for the state and $78.1 million for local governments last year, according to the gaming board. The 10 casinos had overall revenue of $1.35 billion in revenue in 2019, which was down slightly from 2018.
This story was originally published March 16, 2020 at 10:51 AM.
