Illinois Gaming Board proposes self-exclusion rules for 50,141 terminals

The Illinois Gaming Board (IGB) approved proposed rules on Thursday that would extend the state's self-exclusion programme to video gaming terminals (VGTs). The proposal covers 50,141 VGTs at 8,800 licensed locations statewide. It must go to the General Assembly's Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR) for approval before taking effect, according to the IGB.

Enrolment in the self-exclusion programme would be possible at VGT redemption terminals, where identity verification would be carried out. At present, the scheme lets problem gamblers exclude themselves from casinos, sportsbooks and fantasy sports contests. A framework covering video gaming player accounts, cashless wagering and responsible gambling limits is also part of the proposal.

Terminal operators would be free to decide whether to offer cashless play and player rewards, which would run through individual patron video gaming accounts under the proposal's new cashless wagering provisions. Approved payment methods would supply the funds for such accounts. Before use, the accounts would undergo age and identity verification along with safeguards for privacy and security, and they would carry Know-Your-Customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) requirements. The IGB also said patrons must be able to set their own responsible gaming limits on every video gaming player account.

IGB administrator Marcus Fruchter called bringing Illinois video gaming into the existing self-exclusion programme a gaming integrity and public health priority for the board. He said the Illinois video gaming market, described as the largest video gaming network of its kind in the world, has never seen anything like this attempted at its size and scale. Fruchter added that the proposal aligns video gaming's problem gambling protections with those already applied to Illinois casinos and sports wagering, and provides clear guardrails as the industry shifts toward digital payments.

According to the IGB, the proposal is part of an ongoing process discussed at last month's meeting to modernise and further strengthen the state's self-exclusion programme. In September, the four-member IGB made two decisions on the programme. It revised self-exclusion rules to establish tiered enrolment periods and a 12-month marketing exclusion list for patrons leaving the programme, and it adopted a resolution affirming that incorporating video gaming into the self-exclusion programme is IGB public policy and directing staff to take the necessary steps, including submitting proposed rulemaking, which the board approved on Thursday.

The IGB reported that the total amount wagered on video gaming terminals statewide was more than $2.9bn in September.