A gas station and fast-food restaurant planned for a small town in Illinois has sparked a debate concerning video gambling at the Oswego Village Board review. The developer of the location is hoping for a video gambling license at the 3.47-acre property.
According to local reports, the site currently requires rezoning for commercial use and has been vacant since its annex to Oswego from a residential area called Ashcroft Place in 2005. A multi-tenant building including a gas station, a drive-thru restaurant and convenience store has been proposed, along with two other spaces available to lease.
Oswego Village President Ryan Kauffman said, “I like the concept plan for the gas station and the quick service restaurant business. I am not in favor of moving forward with a gaming license at this time until we decide what we are going to do in general on gaming licenses.”
The Village Board in Oswego is not the only area seeking to regulate video gambling at gas stations, cafes and other non-casino venues. In March the Kentucky State Senate voted to ban video gambling ‘devices that resemble slot machines’ in shops.
In August, North Carolina courts ruled that certain video gambling machines were games of chance, and therefore illegal to operate; Virginia locals launched a coalition advocating for ‘skill games;’ and a Pennsylvania Senate Democratic Policy Committee Hearing debated the lack of regulation on skill games and video gambling in places like gas stations.
Trustees in Oswego are worried that if the gas station is not approved, the town could lose out on potential revenue. Trustee Kit Kuhrt said, “If we are not going to move forward without the gaming license, then are you willing to lose another gas station?”
Oswego Village Administrator Dan Di Santo, however, said that a previous proposal for a gas station, which eventually went to the neighboring town of Montgomery, had ‘nothing to do with gambling’ and that gas stations do not a ‘noticeable boost’ to village income.
The building would be 4,000 square feet. A formal vote has not yet been taken on the proposed concept, but Di Santo said one was not needed, as the support for the gas station was unanimous, but support for a gaming license was not.
