Illinois considering around-the-clock gambling at its casinos

“It’s a public policy argument between making money and protecting people who come into the casino and really sit there all day long,” said Illinois Gaming Board Chairman Aaron Jaffe. “We’re open to arguments. Let everybody have their say.”

The push to allow 24-hour gambling at the state’s 10 casinos comes from the Illinois Casino Gaming Association, which represents the gambling houses’ interests, and is addressing ways to fight decreased revenue. The group says extending the 22-hour maximum levels the playing field with video gambling at 24-hour truck stops and keeps Illinois competitive with Indiana, Wisconsin and other surrounding states.

But anti-gambling groups are uneasy, saying the social costs could be great. 

Jerry Prosapio a onetime problem gambler who founded a nonprofit to help those like him, remembers going to Las Vegas casinos and playing for up to 35 hours at a time. “If you keep these places open, you’re not even going to allow these people to catch a breath,” said Prosapio, who started Gambling Exposed a decade ago. “Normally they have to at least get out for a few hours, think about what they’ve just done. They’re going to be victimized more.”

Gambling is a problem for roughly 5 % of the general population and a significant issue for about 1 percent, according to Anita Pindiur, who sits on the board of the Illinois Council on Problem Gambling and is executive director of The Way Back Inn, a suburban Chicago facility that helps addicts.

While she declined to take a position on the board’s dilemma, she said extending to 24 hours could hurt those struggling with addiction. She said she’s seen instances in which gamblers were so immersed and determined to play another hand that they’d forgo food and wear adult diapers to save trips to the bathroom. “The difference is that you don’t give people any time to separate themselves from their addiction,” she said.