ILLINOIS (WAND) – Video gaming spending has passed $200 million in 2018 in central Illinois.
Statistics from the Illinois Gaming Board show high gambling numbers in Decatur and Springfield. Spending from January to June in Decatur shows people spent over $205 million in that time in Springfield, and over $175 million in Decatur.
If those numbers are compared to Springfield’s population, which sits at about 115,000 (US Census Bureau), it averages to about $1,782 spent per person. Decatur’s population (72,000) averages to $2,430 per person.
Champaign saw over $97 million spent on gambling in the first six months of 2018. Bloomington spending topped $101 million.
Each city was able to pocket only a small percentage of the total profits. Decatur's gaming ended with $14.7 million in profits, of which the city kept $736,000. Springfield was only able to claim $835,000 of the $16.7 million in its profits.Â
People can look up gambling statistics in any central Illinois town at this link. PDF documents for all four towns researched by WAND-TV can be found below.
