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Illinois video gambling parlors have become a magnet for smash-and-grab crews, and the numbers are getting ugly fast.
The Illinois Gaming Board says 473 burglaries hit businesses with video gambling in 2025, with more than $2.7 million stolen. That’s up from 358 burglaries and $1.9 million stolen in 2024.
Illinois may be dealing with a huge distributed network
The run hasn’t slowed much in January, either. State figures show at least 40 incidents in the first two weeks of 2026, and nearly half of last year’s total happened in the final three months of 2025.
One operator who runs multiple locations told the Chicago Sun-Times the pace has been unprecedented, calling it “volume” and “audacity” unlike anything he had seen.
The Gaming Board says the state has approximately 9,000 licensed video gaming locations and about 49,000 VGTs connected to a central monitoring system.
A new target for organized smash-and-grab crews
Owners and police say that the bulgaries are not at all subtle. late-night hits, quick entries, heavy tools, and crews trying to get out before patrol cars arrive.
Targets include ATMs, redemption kiosks used to cash out winnings, and the terminals themselves, often smashed open with tools like pry bars and sledgehammers.
In Bedford Park earlier this month, security footage shows burglars pounding the front entry with a sledgehammer, climbing in, and focusing on beating machines apart before police arrived.
Police departments in several suburbs have been sharing intel as the same tactics show up across town lines. Bensenville Police Chief Bradley Swanson called it “a growing problem,” while Chicago Ridge Police Chief Jim Jarolimek told reports the crews “all have masks” and “are in and out in minutes.”
High damage costs, not just stolen cash
For operators, the stolen money is only part of the hit. Repairs add up quickly when burglars use crowbars, pry bars and sledgehammers on terminals. Some locations have started installing heavier physical defenses, like metal shields over entrances.
Law enforcement also says some break-ins have escalated into dangerous chases, and officers sometimes call off pursuits if the fleeing vehicle creates too much risk on local roads.
Regulators push security reminders as burglaries surge
The Illinois Gaming Board has started responding with guidance aimed at hardening locations without crossing the line into improper inducements.
The Illinois Gaming Board has emphasized that video gaming licensees must report criminal incidents that affect gaming operations, while also noting it’s not the first responder on burglary calls.
In a January 13, 2026 memo, IGB Administrator Marcus D. Fruchter said the board had received inquiries from licensed terminal operators about burglaries and reminded licensees that existing rules allow terminal operators to provide certain security items, such as surveillance, alarms and ID scanners, as long as they’re not permanent construction and costs stay proportional to the video gaming area.
The memo also says the IGB works with local and state police, state’s attorneys and the Illinois Attorney General’s Office to support investigations and prosecutions tied to burglaries at video gaming establishments.
The Chicago twist: expansion talk is running straight into public-safety fears
This crime wave lands while Chicago lawmakers and city leaders continue to argue over whether Chicago should allow video gambling more broadly. A spokesperson for Mayor Brandon Johnson told reports the mayor has “considerable public safety concerns” about expanding VGTs citywide
That debate is now happening with fresh evidence that VGT locations can become repeat targets, and that the ripple effects include property damage, armed offenders in some cases, and high-speed chases that put the public at risk.
Source: Chicago Casino Times
