The Big Story

Accel Entertainment bills itself as the regulatory compliant video gambling company in Illinois. Emails and thousands of pages of documents obtained by ProPublica Illinois paint a different picture, one of a deep-pocketed company maneuvering around an inadequate regulatory system to become the largest video gambling operator in the state.

More From This Investigation

How a Video Gambling Company Helped Bankroll Local Politicians

And updates on the creation of new casinos around the state.

From Truck Stops to Elections, a River of Gambling Money Is Flooding Waukegan

Owners of one of Illinois’ largest video gambling companies are behind efforts to influence city politics, expand gambling and build a casino near land they control.

As Illinois Expands Gambling, It Will Also Try to Determine How Many Gambling Addicts It Has

Illinois will finally conduct a thorough study of the gambling problem in the state — the first such survey in nearly 30 years. It said it will spend more money to treat addiction, too.

Anatomy of the Gambling Bill

Illinois is going to dramatically expand gambling. Here’s the bill and what it means.

Let’s Break Down Some Numbers in Illinois’ New Gambling Expansion Bill

Big numbers reflect big legislation — one that got pushed through at the last minute, with little debate or analysis.

Illinois Is Poised to Become the Gambling Capital of the Midwest

And like the state’s last gambling expansion, in 2009, the massive new bill could bring trouble.

How Has the “Crack Cocaine of Gambling” Affected Illinois? The State Hasn’t Bothered to Check.

Since video gambling went live in 2012, more than 30,000 video slot and poker machines have been installed in the state and gamblers have lost more than $5 billion. Yet Illinois has failed to address the issue of gambling addiction in any meaningful way.

How Illinois Bet on Video Gambling and Lost

Lawmakers said legalizing video gambling would generate billions of dollars for the state. Instead, it’s proved to be little more than a money grab.

How We Analyzed Video Gambling in Illinois

Here’s how we conducted an in-depth look at the rapid expansion of video gambling in the state and its financial and social costs.