Wheeling trustees approved an ordinance Monday prohibiting electronic Sweepstakes Machines within the village.
The ordinance was approved by a 6-1 vote, with trustee Joe Vito casting the one choose opposition.
Village Attorney James Ferolo said the machines appear as if licensed video gaming machines and currently aren’t regulated under the Illinois Video Gaming Act. Operators aren’t required to share revenues with state or local governments.
Customers play using cash or for free of charge , but rather than giving cash payouts, the machines dispense coupons or gift cards which will be redeemed for products, cash or chances to win prizes with the acquisition of a product or service.
Ferolo said proponents often claim that the predetermined value of the gifts cards prevents the machines from being classified as gambling.
“The opponents of those Sweepstakes Machines believe that the central purpose of shopping for the gift card is to enter into the sweepstakes which there’s really not an exchange for value that might take this out of the realm of gaming,” he said.
Officials say they’re not conscious of any Sweepstakes Machines within the village, but they need popped up in other suburbs, including Arlington Heights and Huntley. Those villages, along side Mount Prospect, Mundelein, Niles and Oak Park, are among the communities to ban the machines.
Sweepstakes Machines look and performance tons like video gambling machines. At the machines within the BP on Harlem Avenue in Forest Park, users can play games for free of charge initially if they supply their name, address , and date of birth. If they need to continue playing after their free credits are spent , they will put money into the Sweepstakes Machines . The games simulate slot machines, featuring cherries, lemons, sevens, and gold bars. The player can press a button to “spin” and hope the sport ends on a winning combination. Once finished, users can live , which allows them to print a receipt to bring back the cashier. At the BP on Harlem, the receipt are often redeemed for cash.
Being able to play for free of charge , claim Sweepstakes Machines manufacturers and distributors, is one among the key differences between their machines and legal gambling machines. However, the machines don’t always work this manner . In fact, at the Citgo on Randolph the sign above the machines reads: “TO ENTER WITHOUT PURCHASE… (a) ask the participating retailer for free of charge daily entry, limited to at least one entry per day and usable only at the premises of that participation retailer.”
At this location, though, when the cashier was asked the way to play, he said the user must put money into the Sweepstakes Machines to start out . When asked about playing for free of charge , he said the user can go browsing and print out a coupon but had no details on the way to do this . He didn’t provide his name and declined an interview.R Place and Healy’s host Luxe Yard machines, which permit the player to redeem winnings for cash at the bar or coupons which will be used at the Luxe Yard Outlet website, where purchasable items range from Duck Dynasty water bottles to a couch selling for over $4,000.