ACTION REQUESTED:
Title
Communication from the City Manager and Interim Corporation Counsel with a Request to ADOPT an ORDINANCE Amending CHAPTER 18, ARTICLE IV, SECTION 18-99, of the City’s Municipal CODE, to Revise the Issuance of VIDEO GAMING LICENSES.
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BACKGROUND:
Section 18-99 of the City Code requires applicants for video gaming licenses to:
1. Be at least 21 years of age;
2. The applicant or principal officer cannot have held a license revoked for cause;
3. The applicant or principal officer cannot furnish false or misleading information on the application;
4. For new applicants for each of the 2 years prior to applying the business must have generated at least 80% of its revenue from food/beverages. If an applicant currently has another establishment and wants to open a second establishment, the applicant is exempt from the waiting period;
5. The applicant must maintain at least 60% of its revenue from food/beverages;
6. Minimum food/beverage sale requirements do not apply to fraternal or veterans’ establishments as well as indoor entertainment facilities with a liquor license.
In general, new businesses must wait 24 months before they are eligible for a video gaming license. Peoria does not cap the number of establishments that may have licenses or the number of terminals that each licensee may have. State-wide there are multiple approaches to video gaming. They range from a complete prohibition on video gaming to no minimum operation period and no video gaming license caps, and every variation in between. We researched 25 communities and determined the following regarding minimum operation requirements:
No minimum: 14
6 months: 3
12 months: 3
24 months: 1 (Peoria)
36 months: 1
Based on the communities we surveyed, 15 communities have less VGTs than Peoria. Bloomington, Champaign, Waukegan, Quincy, Joliet, Rockford and Springfield have more VGTs than Peoria. There is no direct correlation between the number of VGTs and the waiting period required by each community (in other words, a lower waiting period does not automatically correlate to VGTs becoming prolific throughout the community).
Based on our research, Peoria appears to be in the minority with a 24 month waiting period and we recommend council amend the ordinance to reduce the waiting period to 12 months. Update: Following input from the Council, waiting period in the proposed ordinance has been reduced to 6 months.
UPDATE: The City of Peoria municipal code does not have a limit on the number of video gaming terminals that each establishment can have. However, the state statute limits most establishments to 6 with the exception being that truck stops may have 10.
(230 ILCS 40/25)
(e) Licensed establishment. No video gaming terminal may be placed in any licensed establishment, licensed veterans establishment, licensed truck stop establishment, licensed large truck stop establishment, or licensed fraternal establishment unless the owner or agent of the owner of the licensed establishment, licensed veterans establishment, licensed truck stop establishment, licensed large truck stop establishment, or licensed fraternal establishment has entered into a written use agreement with the terminal operator for placement of the terminals. A copy of the use agreement shall be on file in the terminal operator's place of business and available for inspection by individuals authorized by the Board. A licensed establishment, licensed truck stop establishment, licensed veterans establishment, or licensed fraternal establishment may operate up to 6 video gaming terminals on its premises at any time. A licensed large truck stop establishment may operate up to 10 video gaming terminals on its premises at any time.
NEIGHBORHOOD CONCERNS: None. Research does not support that there will be a substantial expansion of video gaming if the waiting period is reduced from 24 to 6 months.
IMPACT IF APPROVED: Video gaming licenses can be issued after 6 months of a business being in operation.
IMPACT IF DENIED: Status quo.
ALTERNATIVES: N/A
EEO CERTIFICATION NUMBER: N/A
WHICH OF THE GOALS IDENTIFIED IN THE COUNCIL’S 2017 - 2032 STRATEGIC PLAN DOES THIS RECOMMENDATION ADVANCE?
1. Not applicable.
WHICH CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTOR(S) FROM THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN DOES THIS RECOMMENDATION IMPLEMENT?
1. Keep taxes and fees competitive.
DEPARTMENT: Legal