House Bill 480 Fact Sheet

Amendments to the Riverboat Gambling Act

• Authorizes 4 new casino/riverboat licenses:
  • City of Chicago - the license must be awarded pursuant to a competitive bidding process, but the City Council may make recommendations to the Gaming Board regarding the location, proposal for ownership, licensee, and any other considerations weighed by the Gaming Board. This license may operate on Lake Michigan;
  • South Suburbs - this license must be located in one of the following townships: Bloom, Thornton, Rich, Orland, Calumet, Worth, Palos, Bremen, or Lemont;
  • Waukegan - this license must be awarded to Waukegan, and may operate on Lake Michigan; and
  • O'Hare - this license must be located in a municipality of which any portion is located within 10 miles of any portion of O'Hare Airport.
• Authorizes Casinos/Riverboats to use up to 2,000 gaming positions; City of Chicago gets up to 4,000 positions. Casinos/riverboats (other than the one located in Chicago) may construct temporary facilities to house and operate the new positions up to 12 months in order to complete a permanent facility. Casinos/riverboats (other than the one located in Chicago) may use or lose the 2,000 gaming positions. Unused gaming positions become the property of the Gaming Board. The Gaming Board is authorized to establish a competitive bidding process to get the unused positions back in service. Only those casinos/riverboats that are using their 2,000 gaming positions may bid on the available unused positions. The Chicago casino/riverboat may not bid to receive more positions than the 4,000 it is authorized to operate.
• Electronic gaming license eligibility requirements:
  • Obtain an electronic gaming license from the Gaming Board;
  • Hold an organization license under the Horse Racing Act;
  • Hold an inter-track wagering license;
  • Pay $50,000 for each position ($25,000 each in the case of Fairmount and Balmoral racetracks);
  • Apply for at least the same number of racing days as 2006; and
  • Meet all other requirements that apply to casino/riverboat owners.
• Authorizes 3,800 electronic gaming positions to Illinois racetracks. The electronic gaming positions are allocated in the following manner:

  1.	Arlington Park	1,150
  2.	Hawthorne/National Jockey Club	1,000
  3.	Maywood	850
  4.	Balmoral	300
  5.	Fairmount Park	500

• Rewards and penalties for positive and negative impact on horse racing:
  • A racetrack may not conduct electronic gaming if it requests less than 90% of the live racing days it was awarded in 2007.
  • On the 2nd anniversary of the issuance of an electronic gaming license:
    • If a racetrack's average daily live on-track handle is 10% or more lower than the racetrack's 2007 average daily live on-track handle, then the Gaming Board shall take away 10% of the gaming positions at that racetrack.
    • If the average daily live on-track handle is at least 10% higher than the racetrack's 2007 average daily live on-track handle, then the Gaming Board shall allow the racetrack to operate up to 10% more additional gaming positions at that racetrack (subject to payment of position fees).
• Denial of Home Rule Powers. With respect to the licensing and regulation of electronic gaming, the state has exclusive powers, and a home-rule unit of government may not regulate or license electronic gaming or electronic gaming licensees.
• Permits a riverboat to operate up to 15% of its slot gaming positions in its entranceway so long as only persons over 21 have access.
• Decreases the Admission Tax on Riverboats: $2 for each of the first 1.5 million admissions; $3 for each admission thereafter.
• Alters the Wagering Tax; Applied to Casino and Racetrack Gaming Operations. The new AGR takes effect on July 1, 2007: \

  Current AGR & Tax Rate %		Proposed AGR & Tax Rate %
  Up to $25 Million	15%	Up to $25 Million	15%
  $25-50 Million	22.5	$25-50 Million	20
  $50-75 Million	27.5	$50-75 Million	25
  $75-100 Million	32.5	$75-100 Million	30
  $100-150 Million	37.5	$100-400 Million	35
  $150-200 Million	45	$400-450 Million	40
  Over $200 Million	50	$450-500 Million	45
  		Over $500 Million	50

• Host dock distributions shall not exceed amounts paid in CY 2006. If the casino/riverboat is a new operation, the first full calendar year of operation will set the maximum level of host dock distributions.
• Allocates 1% of electronic gaming licensees' AGR to its host municipality (or county, if it is not located within a municipality).
• Allocates 1% of all electronic gaming licensees' AGR, up to $25 million, to the Intercity Development Fund.
• Allocates $5 million to compulsive gambling programs administered by the Department of Human Services.
• Ends the 10th license allocation to the Horse Racing Equity Fund.
• Imposes a one-time $130 million assessment on currently licensed riverboats for the additional gaming positions. Payments are based on a pro-rata share of CY 2006 AGR.

Creation of the Intercity Development Fund Act

• Intercity Development Fund Act. The new act; provides up to $25 million to economically distressed communities in Illinois in two ways:
  • 50% paid directly to the general corporate funds of:
    • 25% to the City of Chicago;
    • 25% to Cook County; and
    • 50% to economically distressed communities found Downstate.
  • 50% to a DCEO grant program to assist the above communities in urban revitalization, job training or re-training, and general economic development.

Amendments to the Illinois Horse Racing Act of 1975

• Definitions. Redefines the term "organizational licensee" to include not-for-profit corporation, municipality, or legal authority with bonding power created to promote tourism; these entities are now eligible to own a racetrack (now, a licensee must be an individual, partnership, corporation, or other association). Adds and defines the following terms: adjusted gross receipts; electronic gaming; electronic gaming license; electronic gaming facility. Electronic gaming means usage of slot machines and/or video games of chance at a racetrack. Electronic gaming facility refers to the portion of a racetrack where electronic gaming is conducted.
• Racing Board regulation of county fair races. This provision expands the Racing Board ‘s jurisdiction to include the blood, saliva, and urine testing of horses run at county fairs.
• Racing Board must award a minimum number of racing days. The provision requires the Racing Board to award at least 600 racing days, plus an additional 100 live standard bred horse race dates to Fairmount Park. (Note: the Racing Board awarded 619 racing days for calendar year 2007, 669 for 2006, and 684 for 2005.)
• Imposes an additional $1 admission tax on racetrack patrons.
• Repeals the racetrack recapture provision for all racetracks beginning January 1, 2007. Any racetrack that begins electronic gaming shall have its recapture amount reduced by the percentage of the year remaining after the racetrack begins electronic gaming.
• Provides incentives for Illinois foaled horses (Throughout the act).
• Breakage distribution. Licensees will no longer be able to retain any portion of the breakage for their general use, with 50% to be used for racetrack improvements and 50% to be allocated to the purse account. Current law distributes breakage as follows: 50% for racetrack improvements, 25% for the purse account, and 25% for the licensee.
• Contributions to racing industry non-profit organizations. The wagering tax paid by racetracks will no longer be transferred into GRF; instead, those revenues (approx. $12 million) will be appropriated through the Department of Agriculture for racing industry non-profit organizations and for awards for Illinois bred and/or foaled horses.
• Racetrack Consolidation. Two or more licensees may consolidate and retain the individual benefits each licensee enjoyed as an independent entity, such as the operation of intertrack wagering facilities and off-track betting parlors, and the application for and receipt of live racing dates from the Racing Board.
• Electronic gaming license. Racetracks may apply to the Illinois Gaming Board for a license; however, only Hawthorne or National Jockey Club may apply for a license, not both.
• 21 year-old age requirement. Those under 21 may not be present in an electronic gaming facility. Pari-mutuel wagers may be placed by those at least 21 years of age at an electronic gaming facility.
• Establishes the split of electronic gaming proceeds. The provision splits the proceeds of electronic gaming in the following manner after adjusted gross receipt taxes are paid:
  • 82.5% to the organization licensee;
  • 15% to the purse equity accounts:
  • 58% to the licensee's thoroughbred purse account; and
  • 42% to the licensee's standardbred purse account;
  • 1.75% to the Illinois Thoroughbred and Standardbred Funds (divided pro rata based on the live racing conducted at the racetrack);
  • 0.25% to the Illinois Quarter Horse Breeders Fund;
  • 0.25% to the licensee's live racing and horse ownership promotional account;
  • 0.125 to the University of Illinois for equine research; and
  • 0.125%to the Racing Industry Charitable Foundation.

Amendments to the IL Pull Tabs & Jar Games Act

• Provides that prizes for a progressive game may exceed $500 and removes the daily prize limit of $5,000 for games subject to the Act (Pages 191-199).

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