DECATUR — When COVID-19 pulled the plug on Illinois gambling, it took away a reliable source of money for municipalities. 

Consider this: Decatur used to get an average of $125,000 to $150,000 every month in video gambling revenue from 460 terminals in 83 establishments throughout the city.

That money stream was cut off, raising concerns by those now balancing the books, a situation made even more complicated by steep declines in sales tax, fuel tax and other revenues.  

“This as you can see will have a compounding negative impact on our city budget,” said Decatur Deputy City Manager Jon Kindseth. “This is not revenue we ever expect to get back, meaning people are not going to gamble double in the second half of the year to make up for what they didn’t play in the first.”

Under the rules established when video gaming was legalized, there’s a 30% tax on net terminal income, or the amount gambled minus what is paid out, with 25% going to the state and 5% going to the municipality. The rest is split evenly between the businesses hosting the gambling and machine operators. 

And it’s big dollars. Statewide, $97.6 billion was played on Illinois video gaming machines from January 2012 to March 2019, according to state data. Decatur has collected more than $7.6 million in video gambling revenue since 2012, when it became legal in Illinois. 

It also can be a crucial source of money for the businesses and fraternal organizations that have the machines. 

“A lot of these bars and restaurants have created monthly budgets around revenue they have coming in and part of this is off of gaming machines,” said Justin Ford, who opened Full House Craft Beer & Gaming Lounge in Maroa in 2017. 

Since then, the five machines there have collected $368,636 in net terminal income. The terminals make up 30% of their monthly income.

In Clinton, where 65 gaming terminals generated $157,702 in video gambling terminal tax revenue last year, video gambling made up about 25% of monthly revenue for Stone’s End Bar & Grill, a neighborhood tavern with a backyard patio and big screen TVs inside.

When COVID-19 happened, they qualified for a Small Business Administration Paycheck Protection Program loan, used to keep their 10 employees on the payroll. 

“We’ve worked very hard to assemble the staff that we have here and I didn’t want to take a chance on losing any of the people that we had working for us,” owner Lance Schmid said.

The restaurant also doubles as an event space, Abigail’s Banquet Hall, but they lost over $3,000 in cancellations. Schmid said that the spring is an especially busy time of year for the restaurant and bar industry because many people like to travel during the summer. 

“I understand we want everyone to be safe and I want to comply with what we can to make sure our customers and employees are safe. The timing has just been awful because now we are going to reopen when it is slow and it is going to be very difficult for small businesses to make up for that. A lot of us might not make it.” 

Fred Whobrey, the quartermaster of the five terminals at the VFW Post 99 in Decatur, said the nonprofit organization also is facing significant financial hardships in the months since the money was cut off.  

“We had to lay off all five of our employees and start slowly bringing them back for outdoor dining purposes,” Whobrey said. 

Whobrey said while they are not in immediate danger of closing entirely, they have had to be creative in saving money. They have kept technology use to a minimum and had to be careful in ordering more soda, liquor and beer for reopening. He said they have had several volunteers come in and help make sure the facility at 3920 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive stays in good shape.

“Life is hard anyway, and this makes it a little bit harder and that is when the veterans step up they’ve been through this war before,” Whobrey said.

The state’s 10 casinos also have been hurting by the shutdown, which Gov. J.B. Pritzker ordered to contain the coronavirus.  

Since riverboat gambling was legalized in 1990, the casinos have become a lucrative source of tax money for state and municipal coffers. In February, the last full month that venues operated, adjusted gross receipts topped more than $102 million, with $15.5 million going to the state and municipalities getting $5.9 million.

In Peoria, Par-A-Dice employees were paid in full during the first month of the casino’s closing on March 15, but the majority of employees were placed on unpaid furlough since April 11, said David Strow, spokesman for Boyd Gaming Corporation. The company has continued to pay all employees’ insurance premiums in full since the furlough began and will do so through July 31.

The shutdown came at an especially challenging time for Illinois, which legalized sports betting last summer. The Illinois Gaming Board in March approved Rivers Casino in Des Plaines to begin taking sports bets, shortly before the NCAA March Madness tournament. The tournament ended up being sidelined by COVID-19 and the venues were shuttered. 

Under Pritzker’s May 29 Disaster Proclamation, the Illinois Gaming Board is developing reopening protocols for casinos and gaming parlors as soon as June 26. 

Terminals will have to be 6 feet apart with a partition between. And gaming areas, including terminals, will have to be sanitized regularly. There also will be capacity limits, among many other requirements. 

Anita Bedell, executive director of the Illinois Church Action on Alcohol & Addiction Problems, said during the public comment portion of the board’s June 11 that the new reopening rules need to be closely monitored.

“In reading through the new directives for the resumption of casino and video gambling operations, it appears that the IGB is putting a lot of trust in gambling companies and all of their staff to comply with reopening rules and moving of machines,” Bedell said. “We ask if you have hired and trained more staff to oversee the reopening of the over 7,000 video gambling establishments? Will you physically send agents into the establishments to ensure compliance?”

Drew Johnson, who runs various Debbie’s Slots and Gaming Lounge locations, said the change can’t come soon enough. 

“As long as we follow through with an approved reopening plan from our terminal operators, we will be able to reopen on the 26th if everything works out and the plan is approved by the gaming board,” Johnson said. 

That’s good news for workers like Bonnie Phelps, an employee at the Debbie’s Slots on U.S. 36 in Decatur. Phelps has worked there for over four years and said being away from work since March has not been easy. 

“I’ve just been sitting around waiting and wondering when we are going to go back to work,” she said. “It has been really difficult not seeing everyone.” 

JoAnna Stanick, a longtime Debbie’s customer, said she and Phelps became fast friends when the location opened five years ago. “She does an excellent job of keeping the place clean and she just makes you feel at home,” said Stanick. 

Stanick said she’s been purchasing scratch-off cards while the gaming machines have been disconnected. “But it’s not the same as going into the lounge and seeing my friends. This is where I get to catch up with everybody.” 

Schmid, the co-owner of Stone’s End in Clinton, said his regular customers have been hurting during a time when they need human connection most. 

“We have a lot of customers that this is their social place,” Schmid said. “We’ve got a couple gentlemen that will come here probably three or four times a week and it is not like they gamble big, but it is something that they do and they enjoy it.”

Contact Analisa Trofimuk at (217) 421-7985. Follow her on Twitter: @AnalisaTro