NEW FACILITIES & OPERATIONS UNDER REBUILD ILLINOIS
NEW CASINOS AND RIVERBOATS
Several licenses are permitted for new casinos and riverboats. The locations, license fees, and allowed gaming positions are summarized below.
NEW CASINO AND RIVERBOAT LICENSES AVAILABLE UNDER REBUILD ILLINOIS
INCREASED GAMING POSITIONS AT EXISTING RIVERBOATS
The maximum number of gaming positions for existing riverboats increased from 1,200 to 2,000. The fee per position for each new gaming position obtained is $17,500 for licensees outside of Cook County and $30,000 for those located within Cook County. All proceeds go to the Rebuild Illinois Projects Fund.
STANDARDBRED RACETRACK IN COOK COUNTY
One license will be issued for a standardbred racing at a racetrack located in one of the following townships in Cook County: Bloom, Bremen, Calumet, Orland, Rich, Thornton, or Worth.
GAMING AT HORSE RACING TRACKS
Licenses to permit gaming at racetracks can be available to any entity that already has a racetrack license. Slot machines, video gaming, electronic gambling games, and table games are permitted.
License Fee (initial and renewal): $250,000.
Gaming Position Fee: $17,500 per position outside of Cook County and $30,000 per position in Cook County, with all proceeds going to the Rebuild Illinois Projects Fund.
Number of Gaming Positions: up to 900 outside Cook County and 1,200 in Cook County.
GAMING AT AIRPORTS
A Chicago casino may conduct gaming operations – limited to slot machines – at an airport under the administration of the Chicago Department of Aviation.
FEES & TAXES
RECONCILIATION PAYMENTS
All casinos, riverboats, and racetracks taking on gaming are required to pay a reconciliation fee when opening or adding gaming positions. All proceeds go to the Rebuild Illinois Projects Fund.
New Casinos: Upfront payment of $15 million. An additional payment shall be made 3 years after operations begin, equal to 75% of adjusted gross receipts of the most lucrative 12-month period of operations, minus an amount equal to the initial payment per gaming position. This payment can be made in installments over a period of 6 years.
Existing Casinos: Payment 3 years after additional gaming positions are added, equal to 75% of adjusted gross receipts of the most lucrative 12-month period of operations, minus an amount equal to the initial payment per gaming position. This payment can be made in installments over a period of 6 years.
Horse Racing Tracks with Gaming: Payment 3 years after gaming operations begin, equal to 75% of difference between its adjusted gross receipts from gaming and amounts paid to its purse for the 12-month period for which such difference was largest, minus an amount equal to the initial payment per gaming position. This payment can be made in installments over a period of 6 years.
ADMISSION TAXES
All casinos, riverboats, and racetracks are required to pay a per-person admission fee.
Casinos/Riverboats & Racetracks with Gaming: A per person fee of $3 is currently charged for every person entering a riverboat, that fee will be extended to include new casinos and gaming facilities at racetracks. A portion of each fee is distributed to local governments, which is described in a section below.
Horse Racing Track Admission Increase: Per-person admission fee increasing to $0.40, from $0.15 per person. Increase goes into effect once licensee of racetrack begins conducting gaming.
WAGERING TAXES (EXCEPT CHICAGO)
Wagering taxes – the tax imposed on the adjusted gross receipts from gambling games – remain consistent with existing rates, with the exception of table games. Beginning July 1, 2020, table games took on a new wagering tax structure. Summarized below are the wagering tax rates.
Wagering Tax Rates (Except Table Games)
New Wagering Tax Rates Only for Table Games (Beginning July 1, 2020)
WAGERING TAXES FOR CHICAGO CASINO
Beginning the first day a Chicago casino conducts gambling operations, the following taxes will be applied. These rates were changed under SB 516 in May 2020.
Chicago Wagering Tax Rates (Except Table Games)
Chicago Wagering Tax Rates Only for Table Games
PARI-MUTUEL TAX
Once gaming is instituted at a horse racing track, the pari-mutuel tax (tax on daily racing receipts) will be at a graduated scale between 1.5% to 3.5%, as summarized below. This is an increase from the previous flat rate of 1.5%.
FUNDING FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENTS
WAGERING TAX DISTRIBUTION TO LOCAL GOVERNMENTS
5% of adjusted gross receipts collected by the state from each riverboat is distributed to the local government where it docks. This provision generally extends to new casinos, riverboats, and racetracks that take on gambling.
Casinos and Riverboats: 5% of adjusted gross receipts collected by the state for each facility goes to the local government in which it is located, with the exception of Chicago, Waukegan, Suburban Cook County, and Rockford. The distribution for these locations is summarized below.
Chicago Casino: of the portion of the wagering tax going to the City of Chicago (shown in above table), 0.5% will go to Cook County, with the balance going to the City of Chicago.
Horse Racing Tracks with Gaming: 3% of adjusted gross receipts collected by the state for each facility goes to the local government in which it is located and 2% goes to the county in which it is located. There are two exceptions: Stickney and Collinsville, whose distributions are summarized in the table below.
Distribution of 5% of Adjusted Gross Receipts to Local Governments
ADMISSION TAXES DISTRIBUTION TO LOCAL GOVERNMENTS
Of the $3 per person admission fee, $1 of each fee is distributed to the municipality or county in which the facility is located. This provision stands for new facilities, however for the new casinos or riverboats licensed in Chicago, Danville, and Rockford and racetracks in Stickney and Collinsville, legislation lays out a specific distribution formula for $1 of each fee between nearby municipalities and the county in which it is located.
