As Illinois embarks on a massive gambling expansion of up to six new casinos and the addition of slot machines and table games at horse tracks, revenue from the state’s 10 existing casinos last year dropped more than 3% , continuing a decadelong slide.
 
The loss in revenue from casinos, however, was more than offset by a continued increase in the state’s take from video poker and slot machines at bars, restaurants and truck stops, according to a report out Thursday from the legislature’s bipartisan Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability.
 
Overall, the state brought in more than $1.4 billion in tax revenue from casinos, video gambling, horse racing and the lottery in the budget year that ended June 30, up 3.5% from the previous year, according to the report.
 
But the report, put out annually by the commission, raises concerns about whether new betting options authorized in the gambling expansion legislation Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed in June — including new casinos in Chicago, Waukegan, the south suburbs, Rockford, Danville and southern Illinois — will continue to draw revenue away from the existing casinos.
 
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