Gambling Revenues Soar in Illinois
12 Oct 2006
Revenue from gambling continues to climb at a steady level in the US state of Illinois. The state was able to funnel millions of gambling generated dollars to local schools as a result. As the United States battles to prohibit online gambling by passing a particularly controversial bill last week, state gambling is flowering in locations where this pastime is legal. The state of Illinois, especially, reported a bumper year in gambling revenue, noting that it collected $1.37 billion in taxes from wagering operations.
Most of the money came from the lottery and riverboat casinos. The latter were awarded a tax break by the state last year to encourage a growth in this industry.This was the eighth consecutive year that Illinois is experiencing a growth in revenue as a result of gambling. The state recently launched an intensive sales pitch to encourage more citizens to play the lottery. In addition, it introduced new gambling games and promotions, including its popular Millionaire's Club game that makes 30 lucky winners instant millionaires.
The lottery brought in a record-breaking $2-billion in gambling sales and the state was able to funnel $670-billion of that into local schools.Local politicians feel that money generated from gambling is the only way that Illinois will be able to guarantee the billions of dollars that it requires for running costs in the state each year. There are already talks of expanding state gambling activities, including the selling of the state-lottery and building a mega-casino.
Back
