The Gameset Insights
The Illinois video gaming market, once a month
Every month the Illinois Gaming Board publishes what every licensed location earned. We read all of it and write down what it says about the market — how full the state is, where income is moving, and which counties are growing. No projections and no opinions — and where we name operators, we name the ones leading on service, never a ranking of the field.
Get it when it publishes
Free. Written for people who own locations and people who operate terminals.
Past issues
July 2026 · IL
Illinois added 24 locations in a year
After four straight years of triple-digit growth, Illinois added 24 licensed video gaming locations in the twelve months to July 2026 — and income per terminal still rose 8%.
June 2026 · IL
Illinois is out of room for machines — and still earning more
Illinois locations averaged 5.71 terminals against a cap of six in June 2026, essentially unchanged in a year, while income per location rose 8.2%.
Operators earning above their own markets
The operators earning the most out of the rooms they run — measured against comparable locations in their own towns, so a good number reflects service rather than holding the best real estate. July 2026 figures.
- Midwest SRO, LLC+92% vs comparable locations
- Lucky Street Gaming LLC+66% vs comparable locations
- Action Video Gaming, LLC+56% vs comparable locations
- Great American Gaming, LLC+42% vs comparable locations
- Lucky Day LLC+34% vs comparable locations
A recognition of who is doing well, not a league table — we don’t rank or score the field. Per-terminal income also turns on venue mix and foot traffic, so this is one honest read on service, not the last word on it.
Where the numbers come from
Everything we publish comes from the Illinois Gaming Board’s monthly reports, which are public. We exclude months where a location reported under $10,000 played — usually a location barely operating that month, or a license starting or ending mid-month — and set aside the small number of months where a location’s hold rate falls outside the normal range, which usually means one or two large jackpots in a single month. Those are real results, just not comparable ones. Each issue says exactly what it excluded.