Illinois Gaming License Requirements: Types, Costs, and Renewal

An Illinois gaming license is issued by the Illinois Gaming Board (IGB), and the type you need depends entirely on your role: bars and restaurants that want to host video gaming terminals apply for a video gaming location license, the companies that place and service those machines hold a terminal operator license, and casinos, equipment suppliers, and sports wagering operators each have their own separate license categories with their own fees and standards.¹ Fees range from $100 for a video gaming location to $250,000 just to file a casino ownership application, so identifying the right license is step one before any paperwork or payment.

Confirm Your Municipality Allows Gaming

Illinois law lets every municipality and county prohibit video gaming within its borders. Some opted out when the Video Gaming Act passed; others have blanket gambling prohibitions that block terminals altogether. If your address falls in one of those areas, the IGB will not process your application.²

The IGB posts a searchable list of every Illinois municipality showing whether video gaming is allowed there, and it is updated regularly. Check it before you spend anything. If your municipality is missing or you think the entry is wrong, a municipal official or attorney can contact the IGB Legal Department through the online inquiry form with a letter on official letterhead and a copy of the relevant ordinance.²

The License Types

Video Gaming Location License

This is what most bars, restaurants, fraternal halls, veterans posts, and truck stops apply for. The Video Gaming Act defines a “licensed establishment” as a retail location where alcoholic liquor is served for on-premises consumption.³ A current liquor license is a hard prerequisite; without one, you cannot apply.

Fraternal and veterans establishments have their own parallel categories, defined as the regular meeting locations of organizations chartered by a national fraternal or veterans body. Truck stops are classified separately: a licensed truck stop establishment sits on at least three acres, has separate diesel islands for commercial vehicles, sells more than 10,000 gallons of diesel or biodiesel per month, and provides dedicated commercial vehicle parking.³

Terminal Operator License

Terminal operators own, place, and maintain the video gaming terminals inside licensed establishments. If your plan is to supply and service machines rather than host them, this is your license. Terminal operators must also carry liability insurance on every gaming device they place, in amounts set by the Board.⁴

Casino Owners License

A casino owners license under the Illinois Gambling Act is a different scale of undertaking. The non-refundable application fee is $250,000, with a separate $50,000 fee for the background investigation. If the investigation costs more than that, you pay the difference within seven days of the Board’s request. The annual license fee is $25,000 for the first year of operation and $5,000 for each year after.⁵

The Board weighs financial integrity, quality of proposed facilities, projected state tax revenue, and the diversity of the applicant’s ownership structure. A felony conviction, a gambling-related conviction, or a revoked gaming license in any jurisdiction is an automatic disqualifier.⁵

Supplier, Manufacturer, and Distributor Licenses

Companies that make, distribute, or supply gaming equipment need their own licenses. A Supplier’s License under the casino gambling regulations carries a $10,000 application fee and a $5,000 annual fee upon issuance.⁶

Sports Wagering Licenses

Sports betting requires a master sports wagering license, tied to existing casino owners licensees. The initial fee for a new owners licensee is $5,000,000, adjusted after 12 months based on 5% of adjusted gross receipts. Renewal costs $1,000,000 and runs four years.⁷

Who Qualifies

Every applicant, regardless of license category, must be at least 21. The IGB runs thorough background investigations covering criminal history, business associations, and financial standing, looking at character, reputation, and whether you have the financial stability to run a gaming business responsibly.¹ That scrutiny reaches every person with significant influence or control, not just the person whose name is on the top of the form.

For a casino owners license, any felony conviction, any gambling offense under the Criminal Code, or submitting a false application is an automatic disqualifier, and Board members themselves are ineligible.⁵ Video gaming applicants face similar vetting, and a record of dishonesty or integrity problems in the gaming industry will sink an application.

Video Gaming Location License Costs and Terminal Limits

The non-refundable application fee is $100, due on submission. Once the IGB finds you suitable and approves the license, the annual license fee is another $100.⁸ Those IGB fees are modest, but a valid liquor license is still required, and its cost varies by municipality. Some local governments also charge their own per-terminal or annual gaming fees on top of the state license.

Standard licensed establishments, fraternal establishments, and veterans establishments can operate up to six video gaming terminals at any one time. Licensed large truck stop establishments can operate up to ten.³ You do not buy the machines; you partner with a licensed terminal operator who places and services them.

Documents to Prepare

The paperwork is extensive. Have these ready before you start:

Business structure documents: articles of incorporation, operating agreements, or partnership documents, along with financial statements.
Personal disclosure forms for every owner and every “key person” with significant influence or control over the business.
Business entity disclosure forms for any business entity involved in ownership.
Fingerprints for every owner and key person.
A copy of your current state and local liquor license.

Video gaming location applicants submit through the Location License Web Application on the IGB portal. The IGB’s forms page lists every disclosure form, including specialized versions for trusts and institutional investors.⁹

Getting the Site Ready

When you submit, you certify the location is ready for inspection. If the IGB arrives and it is not, your application can be deemed incomplete.¹⁰

Terminals must sit in an area restricted to people 21 and older. The entrance to that area must be visible to at least one employee over 21. If your whole establishment already restricts entry to guests 21 and older, no separate barrier is needed. If you admit anyone under 21, you need a physical barrier around the gaming area, such as a partition, gate, or rope, and that barrier cannot block an employee’s view of the entrance.¹⁰

Surveillance is on the terminal operator’s dime, but the cameras still have to be in place and working. They must record continuously whenever terminals are operational, cover every area where gaming happens and vouchers are redeemed, capture at least 10 frames per second at a minimum resolution of 1280 × 720 pixels, display a time and date stamp, and retain footage for at least 30 days. One point that catches location owners by surprise: you, your employees, and anyone with ownership interest in the establishment are barred from accessing the surveillance data. The terminal operator handles all storage and backup, with backup copies secured twice monthly, and only the terminal operator and Board agents can access recordings.¹¹

How the Application Moves

Applications are filed electronically through the IGB portal. Yours is not officially filed until every form, disclosure, fingerprint set, and the $100 fee has been received. Incomplete submissions can be closed without action.⁹

After filing, the IGB investigates you and every key person. The Board may request additional information or schedule interviews, and processing time depends on how complicated your ownership is and how fast you answer follow-ups. Applications are decided at Board meetings; if the Board finds you suitable, the IGB sends a notice with payment instructions for the annual license fee, and the license issues once that fee arrives. A conditional approval process exists that authorizes preparatory activities before final approval, but you cannot operate terminals until the IGB grants full approval.

How the Money Flows After You’re Licensed

Illinois imposes a 30% tax on net terminal income (NTI), which is the total wagered minus the total paid out in winnings. Of that 30%, five-sixths goes to the state and one-sixth to your municipality.

What is left after tax is split evenly: 50% to the terminal operator, 50% to the licensed establishment. That split is set by statute and overrides any private agreement between you and the terminal operator.¹² On $100,000 of NTI, $30,000 goes to taxes; you and the terminal operator each get $35,000 of the remaining $70,000.

Renewal and the Cost of Missing It

Video gaming location licenses expire on the date of the IGB Board meeting held in your expiration month. The IGB sends a renewal email roughly a month before that date. Do not pay before the renewal notice arrives.¹⁰

Miss the deadline and your terminals shut off immediately on expiration. You then have 10 business days to pay the renewal fee. If you still have not paid after those 10 days, your license lapses entirely and you have to start over with a new application.¹⁰ One item that is easy to overlook: when you renew your state liquor license, update that information on your video gaming application too. Letting the liquor license lapse, or failing to report its renewal, creates compliance problems with the IGB.

What Happens if You Operate Without a License

Running video gaming terminals without a valid IGB license is not merely an administrative issue. Under Illinois criminal law, knowingly operating a gambling device is a Class A misdemeanor, carrying up to a year in jail. A second or subsequent conviction is elevated to a Class 4 felony.¹³ The exemption for video gaming terminals only applies when games are operated in full compliance with the Video Gaming Act, so cutting corners on licensure puts you on the wrong side of the Criminal Code.

The consequences do not stop there. Any establishment caught running terminals in violation of the Video Gaming Act faces immediate revocation of its liquor license. Gaming devices found in a non-compliant establishment can be seized and destroyed. An establishment that runs terminals outside the legal hours for alcohol service can have its gaming license terminated by the Board.³ Gaming license, liquor license, equipment, and criminal exposure can all be on the line at once.

1
Illinois Gaming Board. About IGB
2
Illinois Gaming Board. Municipalities Allowing/Prohibiting Video Gaming
3
Illinois General Assembly. 230 ILCS 40 Video Gaming Act
4
Justia Law. Illinois Code Chapter 230 Act 230-ILCS-40 Article 5
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Illinois General Assembly. 230 ILCS 10 Illinois Gambling Act
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Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Gaming Board Part 3000 Riverboat and Casino Gambling
7
FindLaw. Illinois Statutes Chapter 230 Gaming 45/25-35 Master Sports Wagering License Issued to an Owners Licensee
8
Illinois Gaming Board. Video Gaming Location License Application Instructions
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Illinois Gaming Board. Applications and Forms
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Illinois Gaming Board. Frequently Asked Questions FAQ Video Gaming
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LII / Legal Information Institute. Illinois Admin Code Title 11 Section 1800.250 Duties of Terminal Operators
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Illinois General Assembly. 230 ILCS 40/25 Restriction of Licensees
13
FindLaw. Illinois Statutes Chapter 720 Criminal Offenses 5/28-1 Gambling