Illinois proposes ID checks for video gambling machines and extends self-exclusion to about 50,000 terminals

The Illinois Gaming Board has approved proposed rules that would require identity verification before players buy credits for video gambling terminals. If adopted, the changes would also bring about 50,000 machines in bars, petrol stations and other businesses under the state’s self-exclusion programme.

1. The board unanimously approved the proposal on Thursday. It now goes to the General Assembly’s Joint Committee on Administrative Rules, which typically takes six months to a year to review proposals and includes a public comment period.
2. Under the new rules, machines would stop taking cash directly. Players would instead buy vouchers at payout terminals using cash or digital payments through a video gaming account, and both paths would require verification that the customer is at least 21 and not on the self-exclusion list.
3. Opening a video gaming account would remain optional. But operators that offer accounts would have to provide responsible gambling limit tools, block excluded individuals from opening accounts, and stop sending promotional materials to people on the list. They could also offer rewards programmes to players who have not self-excluded.
4. Illinois Gaming Board Administrator Marcus Fruchter said the changes would add payment options while allowing operators to apply player controls and anti-money laundering measures. The board has also described the expansion of self-exclusion coverage as a public health priority.
5. The Gaming Board has contracted LNW Gaming, a supplier of slot machines and table games, to build the upgrades needed to connect the self-exclusion database. Fruchter said he expects the work to be ready for deployment next year.

For PSPs and acquirers, the important bit is straightforward: Illinois is moving video gambling terminals from direct cash acceptance toward an account-linked, verified transaction flow. That means KYC, age checks, self-exclusion screening and transaction controls are no longer abstract compliance language; they are part of the payment path itself.