Springfield Parks District seeks state OK to install video gaming terminals at golf course

Patrick M. Keck, Springfield State Journal- Register
·2 min read
The Springfield Park District wants to add video gaming terminals at the Bunn Golf Course clubhouse and is awaiting approval from the Illinois Gaming Board.
The Springfield Park District wants to add video gaming terminals at the Bunn Golf Course clubhouse and is awaiting approval from the Illinois Gaming Board.

Dozens of Springfield-area entities are wagering with the state for new video gaming terminals, a popular and lucrative form of gambling in the Capital City.

Among them, the Springfield Parks District wants to add video gaming at a local golf club which is pending approval from the Illinois Gaming Board.

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Executive Director Derek Harms told The State Journal-Register that the district recently applied to install video gaming terminals at the Bunn Golf Course clubhouse. IGB confirmed it had received the application in October and was in the process of reviewing it.

The number of video gaming terminals at the clubhouse although unknown, Harms said the proceeds would likely go in part to facility improvements.

"This certainly would be an added service to our golfers and to our community," he said Friday. Expanding into Lincoln Greens Golf Course is also a possibility for the district. "(It's) pretty commonplace here in Springfield, with video gaming. It's also fairly common and golf courses around the area."

The parks district is joined by 16 other local organizations and businesses seeking approval from the state gaming board, which administers the Video Gaming Act signed into law by former Gov. Pat Quinn in 2009. Others with pending applications include Casa Real Cantina and Grill, Delaney's Smokehouse, and Taqueria El Pollo.

The gaming machines are lucrative investments for many restaurants, bars, and businesses. According to IGB data, bettors have placed $478.5 million in bets in Springfield video gaming locations this year through October. The nearly 150 establishments with VGTs have made a net income of $41.6 million within that same period.

This is a file photo of the video gaming room at Mariah's Steakhouse in Springfield. The restaurant at one time billed the space as "Springfield's Upscale Gaming Room." Springfield Park District wants to add gaming terminals at the Bunn Golf Course clubhouse.
This is a file photo of the video gaming room at Mariah's Steakhouse in Springfield. The restaurant at one time billed the space as "Springfield's Upscale Gaming Room." Springfield Park District wants to add gaming terminals at the Bunn Golf Course clubhouse.

The state and local governments also get a cut of the proceeds from license fees and video gaming taxes, collecting more than $400 million, so far, this fiscal year starting July 2023. The remaining funds go to the Capital Projects Fund, according to the Illinois Comptroller's office.

For the city of Springfield, video gaming terminals have been a boon. There were about 800 VGTs in the city which collected $2.3 million in 2022 — the most of any municipality in Illinois. Through October of this year, Springfield received more than $2 million in tax revenues from video gaming.

IGB concluded its final meeting of 2023 with the approval of 96 new VGT locations across the state, none of which coming to Sangamon County. But there were 19 licenses approved for locations in the county this year by the gaming board.

Those who want IGB approval to install video gaming terminals will get their next chance in February.

Contact Patrick M. Keck: 312-549-9340, pkeck@gannett.com, twitter.com/@pkeckreporter.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: New video gaming terminals could be added at Bunn Golf Course