A recent change to Illinois state law could lead to an increase in the fees that area municipalities collect from video gaming terminals. The law, which went into effect December 17th, allows non-home-rule municipalities to impose an annual fee of $250 per video gaming terminal. That fee previously was capped at $25 per year. Both Galena and East Dubuque are non-home-rule municipalities, meaning they only can exercise powers for which state law explicitly provides authority. Both cities currently are working to change their ordinances and collect the higher fee, which could add significant funds to their gaming-related revenue streams. According to the Illinois Gaming Board, there currently are 90 video gaming terminals operating in 16 businesses in East Dubuque. A $250 annual fee for each terminal could garner $22,500 for the city, an increase of more than $20,000 from the city’s current total at the $25-per-terminal rate. Galena has 50 terminals in 10 establishments. Increasing the annual terminal fee to $250 could lead to an additional $11,250 in revenue for the city.
