Two Bloomington businesses face penalties for not obtaining city video gaming licenses

Posted on May 25, 2019
video gambling
Two Bloomington businesses have agreed to pay fines for not obtaining city licences last year for their video gaming terminals. (File photo from Flickr/roundnoon)

 

By Howard Packowitz

BLOOMINGTON – The Bloomington City Council will decide Tuesday night whether to accept settlements in which two businesses have agreed to pay fines for not obtaining city licenses last year for their video gaming terminals.

In a staff report to council members, Lakeside Country Club at 1201 E. Croxton Ave. would pay $3,750, while Killarney’s Irish Pub at 523 N. Main St. would pay $1,500.

According to the staff’s report, Lakeside failed to get city licenses in 2018 for five gaming terminals, while Killarney’s didn’t have city licenses last year for two gambling machines.

Both establishments did have the necessary State of Illinois licenses, according to city staffers.

The violations occurred before the city council decided two months ago to charge establishments a $500 annual fee for each terminal.

The staff’s report said internal procedures are now in place to take “stronger, quicker, and more aggressive actions” against businesses that don’t have city licenses for their gambling machines.

Howard Packowitz can be reached at [email protected]

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