Video Gambling Now Legal In More Than 200 Chicago-Area Towns
Video gambling devices are now legal in more than 200 municipalities across the six-county Chicago metropolitan area, with nearly 80% of the region having legalised the machines to varying degrees, according to a Chicago Sun-Times review of Illinois Gaming Board data published October 5, 2026.
How Widespread The Machines Have Become
More than 60 communities in the region still ban video gambling, but it is legal in virtually every town in Kane, McHenry and Will counties, the Sun-Times found.
The highest concentration of bans is in DuPage and Lake counties, where nearly 40% of communities still prohibit the machines.
The pattern splits broadly along income lines: wealthier North Shore suburbs, including Evanston, Glencoe, Highland Park, Highwood, Kenilworth, Lake Bluff, Lake Forest, Wilmette, and Winnetka, all maintain bans, while lower-income south suburbs, such as Dixmoor and Ford Heights, generally allow the machines.
Towns Moving In Both Directions
Some municipalities are reconsidering their stance.
North Chicago is tightening restrictions to "reduce the amount of gaming in town", according to Greg Jackson, chief of staff to Mayor Leon Rockingham Jr., who said officials "didn't want to be known as a little Vegas".
Bolingbrook recently scrapped its ban and legalized video slots following a referendum, while Winfield has an advisory referendum planned for spring to gauge public support for lifting its own prohibition.
Chicago itself legalized video gambling machines last year, over objections from Mayor Brandon Johnson and the developers of the Bally's Chicago casino, who feared the machines would cannibalize the casino's local market.
Why Regulators And Operators Are Watching
Several towns that already host a casino, including Elgin, Joliet and Waukegan, also allow video gambling elsewhere within their borders, while Des Plaines does not.
In Rosemont, a town that was blocked from hosting a casino two decades ago over regulators' concerns about reputed mob influence, a small amount of video gambling is now permitted.
The pattern underlines how deeply video gambling terminals have embedded themselves in Illinois' gaming landscape even as the state's casino sector continues to expand separately, with critics in the Sun-Times review warning about oversaturation and its social effects.
Further US gaming regulation news will track how more Illinois towns respond.
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