The law, passed last month, would allow thousands of new video poker and other games to be set up in the state’s bars and restaurants, fraternal and veterans meeting places, and truck stops. Game owners, manufacturers, distributors and other entities involved in the business will have to be licensed to operate the gaming machines, which cannot be owned by the bars and other locales themselves. That represents a lot of new clients for some winning lawyers.
But at a public meeting of the Illinois Gaming Board on Aug. 25, Chairman Aaron Jaffe said he lacks the staff attorneys, technology and other resources to meet the Sept. 1 deadline for the new licensing rules. He said that some 15,000 establishments might set up video gaming.
