How to find a new terminal operator
Most locations signed with the terminal operator who called them first, and have never seen what anyone else would commit to. Looking is not the same as leaving — and it is worth knowing what your agreement allows before you do either.
One thing to settle up front: this is not about the money. Illinois fixes what a location earns, so the share is the same everywhere. What differs between terminal operators is service, and that difference is large.
Four steps, and the first one is not calling anybody
Your use agreement sets what is possible and when. Everything else follows from it.
Read your use agreement first
Before anything else, find out what you signed. Term length, renewal, and how much notice you owe are all in that document, and they set your timing entirely. Many agreements renew automatically, so the window to act can be narrower than the term suggests. This is a question for your attorney.
Know what you are comparing
Write down what you have now: which games are on the floor, how old the terminals are, when they were last changed out, and how long a service call takes. Without that, every pitch sounds the same. With it, an offer is either better on a specific line or it isn’t.
Look without committing
You can find out what else is available before you decide anything, and before your current terminal operator knows you looked. On The Gameset that is the default: you post anonymously, and no one — including your incumbent — learns who you are unless you award.
Decide, or don't
Plenty of owners look, find that what they have is competitive, and stay — which is a good outcome and a real one. If you do change, your own IGB license is held in your name and is not something the outgoing terminal operator takes with them.
This is general information, not legal advice. Your agreement’s terms and the Illinois Gaming Board’s current requirements govern, and your attorney is the right person to read both against your situation.
What stays the same, and what doesn't
What does not change: the split. In Illinois, the after-tax split is fixed 50/50 by statute (230 ILCS 40/25(c)), and it is identical with every licensed terminal operator in the state. So what a switch actually changes is the gameset on your floor and the service behind it — which is exactly what you get to compare here.
What does change: the games on your floor. Which titles a terminal operator carries, and how much say you get in them, varies a great deal. For a room whose regulars have been looking at the same six screens for three years, this is usually the line that matters most.
What does change: terminal age and refresh cadence. How old the cabinets are on day one, and how often they get swapped after that. A written refresh commitment and a vague intention to keep things fresh are very different things, and only one of them is comparable.
What does change: how fast somebody shows up. A dark terminal earns nothing for either side. Response time is the service term owners underweight when signing and notice every week afterward.
You can find out what else is out there, anonymously
The reason most owners never check is that checking has always meant taking calls, which means telling people you are open to it. The Gameset removes that. You post what your location is — county, size band, hours, venue type — without naming your business. Licensed terminal operators read the same anonymous profile and submit written service offers: games, terminal age, refresh cadence, response time, and the capped expenses the state permits — the same rows for everyone.
You read them side by side, and you decide. Your identity is revealed only if you award one, listing is free, and awarding no one is a normal outcome we designed for rather than an edge case.
If you want to look at your own numbers first, check your location against the IGB’s public reports before you decide anything.
Common questions
- Can I change terminal operators?
Yes — the relationship is a commercial agreement between two licensed businesses, and locations do change terminal operators. What governs your timing is the use agreement you signed: its term, its renewal provisions and its notice requirements. Read it with your attorney before you take any step, because those terms, not the marketplace, decide when you are free to act.
- Do I lose my IGB license if I change terminal operators?
Your location license is issued to your establishment and held in your name — it is separate from the terminal operator's own license and does not belong to them. The Illinois Gaming Board sets the requirements for keeping it in good standing and for any notification a change involves, so confirm the current procedure with them or your attorney rather than with a party bidding for your business.
- Will I earn more with a different terminal operator?
Not from the split — the after-tax split is fixed 50/50 by statute in Illinois (230 ILCS 40/25(c)), and it is the same with every licensed terminal operator. What a change can affect is play: newer terminals, titles your regulars want, and fewer hours with a machine out of service. Those are service terms, and they are what The Gameset makes comparable. Nobody can promise you a revenue outcome, and a terminal operator who does is not describing something they control.
- Will my current terminal operator find out I am looking?
Not from us. A listing on The Gameset is anonymous: your business name and address are never shown, the geography is shown at county level, and your identity is revealed only if and when you award an offer. Your incumbent is not notified that you listed.
List anonymously- What should I compare between terminal operators?
Because the financial terms are fixed by law, compare service: the games they carry and how much say you get in them, the age of the terminals they would install, a written refresh cadence rather than an intention, and their committed response time when a terminal goes down. On The Gameset those arrive as structured written offers against the same fields, so they can be read side by side instead of remembered from four separate conversations.
How offers are compared
See what else is on offer, without anyone knowing you looked
Post anonymously, read written service offers from licensed terminal operators, and award only if one is worth it.
Free for locations. Your incumbent is not notified that you listed.