[DUMBGRUNT]

Though former Gov. Pat Quinn previously had denounced video gambling as “a bad bet,” he reversed course and signed the Video Gaming Act into law on July 13, 2009.

He was right, before he was wrong.

And what happened to all the millions for education from the state lotto?

A blackhole.

[Greetings_Puny_Humans]

Are state lottos actually failures? Or does this only happen in blue states?

[PGR88]

Like a parasite eventually killing its host, the only thing which will end the corruption and leftist-statism of Illinois will be default and a crash.

they are on a runaway train towards this end anyway. Just pray it comes soon.

[vette6387]

ILLINOIS= CALIFORNIA without an economy.

https://wallethub.com/edu/states-with-the-best-economies/21697/

CA=4
IL=35

[rockrr]

Within months of the law’s passage, the state began borrowing hundreds of millions of dollars against the anticipated revenue.

There's an old axiom about counting chickens before they're hatched

[stars & stripes forever]

Multiple slot locations in cities with small populations do not produce huge profits. Plus, people who gamble and lose are unlikely to gamble again.

[blueunicorn6]

Maybe Illinois can borrow some money from Puerto Rico?

[Malsua]

Geeze that’s insane.

Take an imaginary number, project it out 10 years and borrow against that amount today.

[nikos1121]

Hell hole state...I was born in Chicago. Family in Peoria...I left 9 years ago for Georgia. Toilet of a state, and Chicago worse.

[bigbob]

The municipalities are doing well on their share of video gambling revenue. It’s money they never would have otherwise because they never would have benefited from gambling boat casinos.

[Pilgrim's Progress]

The Mafia says that they did just fine from the proceeds, thanks Illinois!

[HamiltonJay]

Mismanagement and Graft destroyed Illinois long ago... just a question of how long the corpse can keep walking before it rots completely away

[ObozoMustGo2012]

I can play my Xbox for free.....

[Yaelle]

Legalized gambling is not the problem. HOW ITS RUN is always the problem. Mafia of both kinds (government and other) get theirs.

[LukeL]

There is no overhead in taxing the video gambling machines in bars and gas stations. Two things are happening. Owners are under reporting winnings and government officials are skimming the profits.

[Freee-dame]

At every key point, state officials made decisions that undercut taxpayers and helped the companies that market video gambling.

Not in Illinois! /s

[Raymann]

Good article with actual research. Glad to see the sun times can do real journalism...unlike their counterparts at the new york times.