What the ordinance did, and what it did not
Under the Video Gaming Act, a municipality may prohibit video gaming within its corporate limits by ordinance (230 ILCS 40/27(a)), and for years that is where Chicago stood: no video gaming terminals in its bars and restaurants.
The 2026 budget changed that. On Friday, December 19, 2025, the City Council passed the revenue ordinance 29-19, and on Saturday, December 20, the appropriations ordinance 30-18. Article XIII of the revenue ordinance added Chapter 4-155, "Video Gaming," to the Municipal Code, counting on $6.8 million from video gaming in 2026. Mayor Johnson neither signed nor vetoed the budget, and it took effect on January 1, 2026.
Chapter 4-155 created two City licenses, both issued by the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP): a location license for the establishment and a terminal license for the operator.
What it did not do matters as much. The ordinance itself licensed no one; licenses come from the Board and the City. It did not replace state licensing; it made Chicago a place where the state's program could operate. The Illinois Gaming Board waited for the City's official notice before recognizing Chicago as a video gaming municipality; City Clerk Anna Valencia sent it on Tuesday, February 24, 2026, and on Thursday, February 26, the Board began accepting applications from Chicago locations. In June 2026 the Board's Administrator said on the record that a Chicago location cannot go live, even with its IGB license, until it holds the City's licenses.
What state law requires regardless
Whatever the City does, the Video Gaming Act and the Gaming Board's rules bind every location in Illinois:
- Who can host terminals. A "licensed establishment" is a retail establishment where alcoholic liquor is drawn, poured, mixed or otherwise served on the premises (230 ILCS 40/5); that is why this site says "liquor-licensed establishments."
- State licenses before placement. The location holds a Board establishment license, and each terminal is licensed before it is placed or operated (230 ILCS 40/35(a)).
- Up to six terminals on the premises at any time (230 ILCS 40/25(e)).
- A written use agreement. No terminal is placed unless the owner has a written use agreement with the terminal operator (40/25(e)). The Board's rule adds that, if the location is licensed, the first-in-time agreement controls over any signed later, and that an agreement is void if the location does not apply for a license within one year of signing or is denied one (11 Ill. Adm. Code 1800.320(a)(2)–(3)). In practice that means one operator per location under one written use agreement, a reading inferred from 25(e) and Rule 1800.320 rather than quoted from either.
- The split is set by statute. Of the after-tax profits from a terminal, 50 percent is paid to the terminal operator and 50 percent to the licensed establishment, "notwithstanding any agreement to the contrary" (230 ILCS 40/25(c)).
- Nothing of value. No terminal operator may give an establishment anything of value as an inducement to host terminals; the statute's own examples are lending money and arranging credit. A violation is a Class 4 felony (40/25(c)).
- Players must be 21 (230 ILCS 40/40).
What the City's own license asks for
BACP's video gaming page, read on November 5, 2026, lists both licenses and says a business "must first obtain a license from the Illinois Gaming Board" before applying to the City. For the Video Gaming Location License, the business must hold an active Tavern liquor license or a Consumption on Premises – Incidental Activity liquor license; package-goods licensees cannot apply. Each location may have a maximum of six machines. The documents: photo identification, a floor plan showing where each machine will sit, the Gaming Board establishment license, the use agreement with the terminal operator, and a lease or proof of ownership.
As of November 5, 2026, that page showed no fee schedule and no statement about an application window. Where the City's licensing stands on any given date is not this post's job; the dated status box on this site says that.
What this means for a Chicago bar owner
- Check your liquor license class first. The state wants an on-premises liquor license; the City's page names Tavern and Consumption on Premises – Incidental Activity and rules out package goods.
- Compare operators on service. The split and the six-machine cap are fixed by statute for every operator in Illinois. What differs is who shows up when a machine goes down, who handles the paperwork, and who you can reach.
- Read any agreement you already have, and its date. If the location is licensed, the first-in-time use agreement controls, but an agreement is void if the location does not apply for a license within one year of signing.
- Plan for two licenses. The City's sits on top of the state's, and the Gaming Board's Administrator said in June 2026 that a Chicago location cannot go live until it holds the City's license too.
Prairie State Gaming's licensing team explains the application process and coordinates the information and steps needed to move forward. Reach the team.