The Illinois Gaming Commission is poised to impose a substantial $5 million penalty on Accel Entertainment. The company stands accused of effectively orchestrating an illicit rebate system to expand the presence of their gaming terminals in establishments statewide.
Accel, a major player in the video gambling sector, allegedly entered into an agreement with the internet sports wagering platform DraftKings. This arrangement, as reported by WBEZ in Chicago, involved Accel compensating businesses for hosting their devices – a significant violation under Illinois regulations. We’re discussing a potential 21,000 separate instances of these payments. To illustrate the scale, Accel manages nearly one-third of all the gaming machines throughout the state of Illinois.
The alleged scheme functioned as follows: Accel would display DraftKings advertisements on their machines. In exchange, DraftKings would remit $200 to Accel for each new client acquired through these promotions. Accel would then distribute a portion of these funds to the businesses housing the machines. The Gaming Commission, within their eight-page complaint, essentially asserts that Accel utilized these DraftKings proceeds as a discretionary fund to entice businesses into accepting their terminals.
Accel’s Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Rubenstein, maintains that they intend to vigorously contest these allegations. His stance can be summarized as, “We are two publicly traded entities, we understand the regulations, and we adhere to them.” Accel’s legal counsel echoed this sentiment, affirming the company’s dedication to operating within the confines of the law.
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