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Illinois Gaming Market

Sign of the Times: Signage Requirements for Illinois Gaming Locations

December 18, 2017

When setting up a video gaming area in your licensed establishment, one simple yet important detail to remember is to display a handful of signs required by various regulations. These can essentially be divided into two categories: signs that are specific to video gaming, and signs that aren’t. Here’s a breakdown of both.

Video-Gaming Signs

There are two kinds of signs that are specifically required by the Illinois Gaming Board (IGB) for licensed establishments. The first sign is very basic and features three key pieces of information for patrons who use your Video Gaming Terminals (VGTs):

Signage Requirements for licensed video gaming locations
  • the name and telephone number of your Terminal Operator’s service department,
  • the IGB hotline for reporting potential legal violations
  • the phone number for gambling-addiction counseling.

The second IGB-mandated sign is conditional: If your establishment admits minors, your VGTs must be physically segregated from other areas of your location — through the use of stanchions or actual walls — and have a sign clearly indicating that minors aren’t permitted to enter the space containing those machines. (Notably, IGB regulations require that the entrance to the video gaming area be monitored by at least one employee who is 21 years of age or older.)

If your establishment does not allow minors at any time, you are not required to have a separate video gaming area or signs designating such. However, it might be good practice to post signs that inform the public that minors are not allowed – perhaps even on the front door to your establishment.

 

New call-to-actionNon-Video-Gaming Signs

Even though they aren’t mandated directly by the IGB, there are other signs you’ll have to display by virtue of being a “pouring” establishment — one that serves alcohol for consumption on the premises.

Here are obligatory signs that aren’t directly related to video gaming:

    • Human trafficking notice
    • Prohibition of firearms on the premises
    • No smoking
    • Warning of the health risks of drinking while pregnant

Additionally, you should also display your actual liquor license and an Illinois Business Tax certificate.

Despite the fact that they aren’t specifically required by the IGB, gaming agents might look for these signs during site visits. You’ll want to be sure that all of these are displayed in way that makes them clearly visible. According to Relationship Managers at Accel Entertainment, a good rule of thumb is that if an IGB agent visits your establishment and takes photos of your video gaming area, these signs — particularly those in the first category — will show up in the majority of the pictures.
 
 

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