Chicago Concerned Citizens Call on City Council to Protect Small Businesses and Pursue Smarter Regulation of Prize and Gift Kiosks
Coalition Urges Alderman Beal to Distinguish Between Law-Abiding Operators and Bad Actors Before Enacting a Ban That Would Shutter Neighborhood Businesses Across the City
CHICAGO, IL / ACCESS Newswire / May 18, 2026 /Chicago Concerned Citizens, a coalition of small business owners, operators, and community members across the city, today issued a formal statement opposing the proposed citywide ban on prize and gift kiosks, warning that the ordinance would eliminate a critical lifeline for hundreds of neighborhood establishments while doing little to address the actual bad actors the city claims to be targeting.
The ordinance, championed by 9th Ward Alderman Anthony Beal, has cleared the City Council 's Licensing and Consumer Protection Committee. If passed into law, it would impose fines beginning at $1,000 per offense on establishments operating these devices and, upon a third offense, expose them to machine seizure and potential liquor license revocation.
Chicago Concerned Citizens maintains that the proposal paints every operator with the same brush, punishing compliant, law-abiding small businesses for the conduct of those who refuse to follow the rules.
These Machines Are Legal. Full Stop.
Prize and gift kiosks are expressly authorized under 720 ILCS 5/28-1(b)(13) of the Illinois Criminal Code, which exempts from gambling classifications any game of skill or chance where no payment or purchase is required to participate. Compliant kiosks are free to use, do not dispense cash, and issue gift certificates that must be separately redeemed. They are not slot machines. They are not gambling devices.
They are further exempt from the Illinois Video Gaming Act under 230 ILCS 40/35, and fall outside local municipal ordinance definitions of coin-operated amusement devices, as their express purpose is the promotion and sale of gift certificates.
The term matters: These are prize and gift kiosks, and that designation is not cosmetic. It reflects a legally precise distinction that the proposed ban fails to recognize.
Small Businesses Cannot Afford a Blanket Ban
Approximately 5,000 of these machines are currently operating across Chicago, providing revenue that keeps neighborhood bars, taverns, and small establishments afloat. Many of these businesses do not qualify for state-licensed video gaming terminals, which now carry licensing costs upward of $100,000. For them, there is no comparable alternative and no time to wait out a state licensing process that was never designed with them in mind.
Dozens of small business owners across the city have submitted letters directly to Alderman Beal and members of the City Council, asking them not to ban an industry that has become essential to their survival.
A total ban will penalize small businesses and result in many closings, leaving neighborhoods with empty retail space.
We Acknowledge Bad Actors. We Are Not Them.
Chicago Concerned Citizens is not asking for a free pass. The coalition has been consistent in acknowledging that bad actors exist in this space and that they should be held accountable. What the coalition opposes is a policy response that makes no distinction between operators who have structured their entire business model around legal compliance and those who have not.
What We Are Asking For
Chicago Concerned Citizens is calling on Alderman Beal and the full City Council to:
Pause the proposed ordinance before a full floor vote
Engage directly with compliant operators and legal counsel to understand the distinction between lawful prize and gift kiosks and illegal machines
Develop a targeted enforcement strategy that removes bad actors without destroying the businesses that have done everything right
Recognize that for many Chicago small businesses, this is not a policy debate. It is a matter of survival.
Generate revenue, up to $70M a year from lawful prize & gift kiosks
About Chicago Concerned Citizens
The Chicago Citizens Coalition is a community-driven organization dedicated to promoting civic engagement, public safety, economic opportunity, and stronger neighborhoods throughout the Chicago area. Through advocacy, education, and strategic partnerships, the coalition works to empower residents and create meaningful solutions that improve the quality of life for all Chicagoans.
Contact
Concerned Citizens Coalition
email: ChicagoCCC@gmail.com
https://concernedcoalition.org/
SOURCE:Concerned Citizens Coalition
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