Verticals / VGTs / VLTs

VGTs / VLTs

Video gaming terminals are legal and live in 8 states: Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Montana, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota and West Virginia, as of Oct 12, 2026. 7 states allow it in a limited form.

Video gaming terminals / VLTs outside commercial casinos (bars, truck stops); a lottery-run VLT program confined to racinos is vgt with status limited.

By state

StateStatusLaunchedModelCurrent taxDetails
IllinoisLiveSep 1, 2012Competitive
35% NET_REVENUE
One of the largest VGT markets in the U.S. — terminals in licensed bars, restaurants, truck stops, fraternal/veterans establishments. FY2025 net terminal income exceeded $3.086 billion (up ~5% from FY2024's $2.932 billion). A 2025 bill (SB 2671) to raise the tax from 35% to 45% stalled in committee (last action 5/22/2026) and did not pass.
LouisianaLive1992Competitive
26% NET_REVENUE (retail)
32.5% NET_REVENUE (retail)
22.5% NET_REVENUE (retail)
20% NET_REVENUE (retail)
Video poker machines were legalized alongside riverboat casinos in the 1991 legislative session; the deal to include truck stops (in addition to bars, restaurants, and racetrack/OTB facilities) secured the votes needed to pass the bill, and statewide rollout followed in 1992. Truck-stop device counts are tied to monthly fuel sales (for example, 100,000+ gallons of monthly sales, including 40,000 diesel, supports up to 50 devices). Device revenue is split between a state franchise payment and, at racetrack/OTB facilities, a mandatory purse supplement to horse-racing purses; see the tax rates below for the exact percentages.
MarylandLiveSep 17, 2010Competitive
Same regime as casino_commercial: Maryland's VLT program IS the commercial-casino slot program (6 licensed casinos only, no separate bar/truck-stop VGT category); see the casino_commercial tax_rates entries above for the facility-specific state/local VLT and table-game splits. OTHER (retail)
Maryland's commercial casino slot machines are legally structured as video lottery terminals operated under Lottery authority at the 6 licensed casinos (not a separate bar/truck-stop VGT program as in PA/WV).
MontanaLive1987Competitive
15% GGR (retail)
Video Gambling Machine Control Law (enacted Ch. 603, L. 1987) licenses VGMs at bars/taverns with on-premises liquor licenses; more than 1,400 licensed operators/locations and 16,000+ machines statewide. Not available to tribal gaming operations.
OregonLiveMar 1992Monopoly State
Not a state gaming tax; this is Video Lottery retailer compensation set by the Lottery Commission under ORS 461.310. Per OAR 177-040-0026 (effective June 28, 2020), retailers earn a tiered, declining percentage of dollars played per terminal per business day: 2.20% on the first $2,250,000 played, 1.75% on the next tier to $4,000,000, 1.50% on the next tier to $6,500,000, with additional lower tiers reported down to about 1.34% at higher volumes per a 2023 legislative summary. 2.5% of net Video Lottery receipts is separately dedicated by law to county economic development. OTHER (retail)
Video Lottery (video poker from 1992; video 'line games' added May 2005) is the Lottery's largest revenue source — about 76% of total Lottery revenue in a recent fiscal year. About 10,865 terminals operate across 2,083 Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission-licensed bars and taverns (526 video-only retailers plus 1,557 combined traditional-and-video retailers, out of 3,793 total Lottery retailers), capped at 6 terminals per premises; players must be 21+. 2.5% of Video Lottery net receipts is dedicated by law to counties for economic development. Retailer compensation is set by the Lottery Commission under ORS 461.310 rather than fixed in statute; OAR 177-040-0026 sets a tiered, declining-percentage schedule of dollars played per retailer per day, from 2.20% on the first $2,250,000 played down to about 1.34% at the highest volumes.?
PennsylvaniaLiveJan 1, 2018Competitive
52% GGR (retail)
Up to 5 terminals per qualified truck stop (diesel-sales threshold); effective combined tax ~52% (42% state + 10% local share assessment per PGCB monthly VGT reports).
South DakotaLiveOct 16, 1989Monopoly State
49.5% OTHER (retail)
State-run video lottery established Oct. 16, 1989; ruled unconstitutional by the S.D. Supreme Court June 22, 1994 (machines shut down Aug. 13, 1994); re-authorized by constitutional amendment Nov. 8, 1994 and restored Nov. 22, 1994. Repeal rejected by voters in 1992, 2000 and 2006. Minimum age 21; Net Machine Income (cash in minus prizes paid) split 50/50 state/licensed operator since inception, with the state's effective share at 49.5% of NMI since July 1, 2015 (Lottery retains 0.5% for operating costs).
West VirginiaLiveCompetitive
50% OTHER (retail)
Limited-video-lottery terminals (up to 5 per qualifying bar/club/restaurant/fraternal organization) are licensed separately from the racetrack casinos' video lottery. Operator-to-retailer revenue share is contractually 40-50% of net terminal income (§29-22B-706(4)); of the remaining gross profits, the Lottery Commission's own share has been fixed at 50% since July 1, 2019 (previously a tiered 30%-50% schedule), per §29-22B-1408.
DelawareLimitedDec 29, 1995Monopoly State
42.5% GGR (retail)
Delaware calls commercial slot machines "video lottery" and operates them as a Lottery monopoly at the 3 racinos rather than as a separate non-casino VGT program; players receive >=87% of proceeds on average, with 42.5% of the remainder returned to the State.
GeorgiaLimitedApr 10, 2013Hybrid
13% NET_REVENUE (retail)
Coin Operated Amusement Machines (Class A entertainment-only; Class B skill-based redemption machines) are licensed (location/master/manufacturer-distributor licenses via gacoam.com) and regulated by GLC's COAM Division. Winners redeem non-cash prizes; 2024's HB 353 switched redemption from store-specific merchandise to gift cards usable statewide for any legal product.?
NevadaLimitedCompetitive
6.75% GGR (retail)
Nevada's "restricted gaming license" (up to 15 slot machines, no other games) at bars, taverns, grocery and convenience stores functions similarly to other states' VGT programs, but is licensed as ordinary slot-machine gaming under NRS 463, not a separate VGT category.
New MexicoLimitedHybrid
24.8% NET_REVENUE (retail)
Non-racetrack "gaming operator" licensees (fraternal/veterans clubs and similar non-profit locations) may operate a limited number of slot-style "gaming machines" under the Gaming Control Act, functioning similarly to VGTs in other states.?
New YorkLimitedMonopoly State
No single rate: Tax Law § 1612(b)(1) has the Division/Gaming Commission retain a flat 10% of net win (total revenue wagered after prize payout) off the top for operation, administration and procurement, then pay the racino a "vendor's fee" calculated as a facility-specific percentage of that same net win: 39.5% for a vendor track in "development zone one"; in zone two, tiered by distance from a destination-resort casino or a Native American Class III facility -- 43.5% (15-50 mi from a destination-resort facility), 49% (within 15 mi of one), 51% (15-50 mi from a tribal Class III facility), 56% (within 15 mi of one), or 49% for a facility authorized under § 1617-a(a)(5); 50% at the Aqueduct racetrack facility; 45% in Nassau/Suffolk counties for a Racing Law § 502 operator; and, since 2025-06-01, 56% (including a 5-point "additional vendor fee" earmarked for non-executive/non- managerial employee healthcare, wages and headcount) for the Genesee County track within 40 miles of a Native American Class III facility. The remainder after the 10% division retention and the vendor's fee (and, at racetracks, purse-enhancement set-asides) goes to the state Lottery fund for education aid. GGR (retail)
New York's Video Lottery Terminal program runs more than 17,000 machines at racetrack-based "racinos" rather than at bars or truck stops: Empire City Casino at Yonkers Raceway, Saratoga Casino Hotel, Finger Lakes Gaming & Racetrack, Resorts World Hudson Valley, Hamburg Gaming, Vernon Downs Casino Hotel, Batavia Downs Gaming, and Jake's 58 Hotel & Casino. Revenue is deposited into the state Lottery fund for education aid.?
OhioLimitedMonopoly State
Not a state GGR tax: racino VLTs are Ohio Lottery Commission products operated under lottery-sales-agent agreements, not a licensed-operator gaming tax. OAC 3770:2-3-08 sets each video lottery sales agent's (racino's) commission at 66.5% of video lottery terminal income, implying the Lottery Commission retains an effective ~33.5% state/lottery share (less agents' own 0.5%-of-commission problem-gambling-fund remittance). Separately, R.C. 3769.087(C) carves 9%-11% of VLT income (on a sliding scale tied to the facility's capital investment) out of the agent's commission share and directs it to the State Racing Commission for horse breeding/racing purposes, capped so total racing-directed VLT amounts do not exceed 45% of VLT income. OTHER (retail)
Racino-only: the Ohio Lottery runs video lottery terminals solely "at a facility owned by a holder of a [racing] permit" (the 7 racinos) under ORC 3770.21(A)(1). There is no VGT/VLT program in bars or truck stops.
Rhode IslandLimitedMonopoly State
VLT net terminal income (NTI) at the two licensed facilities is not divided by a single stated 'state share' percentage; R.I. Gen. Laws § 42-61.2-7(a) instead lists specific statutory carve-outs from NTI (a technology-provider share of 7% outside the 2023-2043 exclusive VLT agreement period; fixed retailer percentages per facility; small set-asides such as 0.19%, capped at $20M, to distressed communities), with the General Fund and State Lottery Division Fund receiving the NTI remaining after all enumerated carve-outs. OTHER (retail)
Video lottery terminals are confined by statute to the two licensed Division of Lottery facilities (Twin River, Tiverton); no VLTs are authorized in bars, truck stops, or other non-casino locations.
MissouriContestedNo video-lottery-terminal statute exists. A 2026 House bill that would have created a Lottery-licensed VGT program for the same unregulated gray-market machines operating in bars and gas stations narrowly passed the House but stalled in the Senate.
HawaiiProhibitedNo video-gaming-terminal program exists; covered by the general gambling prohibition and the ban on gambling devices.
North CarolinaProhibitedVideo poker was phased down starting 2000 (3-machine-per-location cap, no new machines) and fully banned effective July 1, 2007 under Session Law 2006-6, except under a tribal-state compact. A legalization bill, House Bill 999 (2025-2026 session), would create a licensed VGT framework under the State Lottery Commission (up to 3 terminals/location, up to 3 more based on a net machine revenue benchmark; central-monitoring-system connection required; a dedicated NC Video Gaming Fund for law enforcement and other allocations). It was filed April 10, 2025 and referred to the House Rules, Calendar, and Operations Committee on April 14, 2025, with no further action identified as of Oct. 2026.
South CarolinaProhibitedVideo poker/VGT payout machines were a multibillion-dollar industry in SC until the General Assembly's 1999 Act No. 125 banned machine payouts. The SC Supreme Court in Joytime Distributors & Amusement Co. v. State, 338 S.C. 634, 528 S.E.2d 647 (1999), struck down the act's voter-referendum mechanism as an unconstitutional delegation of legislative power but held the payout ban itself severable and valid because the legislature had enacted it directly; the U.S. Supreme Court declined review. The ban took effect statewide at midnight June 30, 2000, and §12-21-2710 (as currently codified) still criminalizes any coin machine with a free-play/payout feature used for house-banked games.
UtahProhibitedVideo gaming terminals meet the statutory "video gaming device" definition; allowing one to be used in a business establishment is "permitting gambling," a misdemeanor (felony on repeat).
AlabamaNot authorizedNo regulated video-gaming-terminal/VLT program exists outside casinos. Electronic "bingo" machines operated at former dog tracks under contested local constitutional amendments, not a VGT statute, and were shut down following the 2016 Alabama Supreme Court rulings.
AlaskaNot authorizedNo bar/truck-stop video-gaming-terminal program exists outside licensed (and, if SB 170 passes, electronic) pull-tabs under the charitable-gaming program.
ArizonaNot authorizedNo freestanding video gaming terminal/VLT program outside tribal casinos exists in Arizona; not a recognized category under Title 5.
ArkansasNot authorizedNo video gaming terminals are authorized at bars or truck stops outside the state's three licensed casinos; § 5-66-104 generally prohibits chance-based gambling devices.
CaliforniaNot authorizedResolved on the same basis as casino_commercial — the state constitution reserves slot-machine-style gaming (which includes video gaming terminals) to tribal Class III compacts; no statute authorizes a non-tribal VGT program comparable to Oregon's Video Lottery or Washington's historical-horse-racing terminals. Card rooms are limited to player-banked table games, not slot/VGT-style devices.
ColoradoNot authorizedVideo gaming terminals outside licensed casinos are not authorized under the constitutional limited-gaming framework.
ConnecticutNot authorizedAs part of the tribal compact structure, the state prohibits slot machines everywhere except the two tribal casinos, in exchange for the tribes' 25%-of-slot-revenue payments; no video gaming terminals are authorized in bars, truck stops, or other non-casino locations.
District of ColumbiaNot authorizedDC has no separate video-gaming-terminal (bar/truck-stop VLT) statute distinct from the licensed game-of-skill-machine framework; unlicensed devices fall under the general prohibition.
FloridaNot authorizedNo statute authorizes video gaming terminals/VLTs at bars or truck stops outside the licensed pari-mutuel slot-machine framework (Broward/Miami-Dade) or the narrow § 849.161 skill-machine exemption.
IdahoNot authorizedNo bar/truck-stop video gaming terminal program exists outside the tribal video-gaming-machine framework (casino_tribal), which is limited to compacted tribes.
IndianaNot authorizedIndiana has not authorized video gaming terminals in bars/truck stops/fraternal clubs outside licensed casinos (unlike Illinois); gaming devices outside licensed casinos and charity gaming are prohibited.
IowaNot authorizedGambling games confined by ch. 99F to licensed excursion-boat/racetrack facilities; Ch. 99B 'amusement devices' subchapter covers non-cash-prize devices, not VGT-style cash payout terminals.
KansasNot authorizedKansas confines electronic gaming machines to the 4 KELA lottery gaming facilities and licensed racetrack facilities; no standalone bar/truck-stop VGT program identified.
KentuckyNot authorizedKentucky has no licensed video-gaming-terminal-at-retail-establishment program outside the Office of Charitable Gaming's card-minding devices and electronic pull-tab devices, which are restricted to licensed charitable gaming use only.
MaineNot authorizedSlot machines are authorized only at the 2 licensed casino/commercial-track premises (8 M.R.S. §1035); no freestanding VGT-in-bars program exists.
MassachusettsNot authorizedNo video gaming terminal statute outside the 3 licensed casino properties; c.271 §17 general prohibition applies to unlicensed gaming devices in bars/truck stops.
MichiganNot authorizedMichigan has not authorized video gaming terminals/VLTs in bars, truck stops or similar off-casino locations (unlike IL, PA, MT, LA); gaming devices outside the 3 licensed commercial casinos and compacted tribal casinos remain generally prohibited.
MinnesotaNot authorizedNo freestanding video-lottery-terminal program exists outside the Gambling Control Board's licensed charitable electronic pull-tab/linked-bingo devices.
MississippiNot authorizedNo video gaming terminals are authorized at bars/truck stops outside licensed casinos. Bills to let the Mississippi Lottery Corporation authorize a limited number of truck-stop VGTs per congressional district (e.g., H.B. 76 in 2026, H.B. 452 in 2025, H.B. 855 in 2019) have been introduced repeatedly since at least 2019 without passing.
NebraskaNot authorizedSlot/EGD machines confined by statute to licensed racetrack-casino properties; no standalone bar/tavern VGT program identified.
New HampshireNot authorizedNo freestanding VGT/VLT-in-bars program; gaming devices outside the licensed charitable-gaming/HHR/family-entertainment-center carve-outs are prohibited under RSA 647:2 and RSA 287-D:26-32.
New JerseyNot authorizedNew Jersey has no statute authorizing video gaming terminals/VLTs in bars, truck stops, or other non-casino locations; slot machines remain confined to licensed Atlantic City casinos.
North DakotaNot authorizedNo freestanding video-lottery-terminal program exists outside the AG-licensed electronic pull-tab/electronic quick shot bingo devices under ch. 53-06.1.
OklahomaNot authorizedNo freestanding VGT/VLT program outside the tribal-compact and racetrack "electronic amusement games" framework exists.
TennesseeNot authorized
TexasNot authorizedNo statute authorizes VGTs/VLTs at bars, truck stops, or other non-casino, non-tribal locations. The closest analog, "eight-liner" amusement machines relying on the Penal Code 47.01(4)(B) noncash-prize exception, remains legally disputed: a Fort Worth appellate ruling held the exception itself unconstitutional, and local enforcement is inconsistent statewide.
VermontNot authorizedNo video gaming terminal statute; sale, lease, rental, or possession of gambling machines is criminalized under 13 V.S.A. §§2135-2136.
VirginiaNot authorizedNo licensed video-gaming-terminal-at-retail-establishment program exists outside the illegal "skill games"/"gray machines" that have repeatedly been vetoed.
WashingtonNot authorizedWashington does not authorize video gaming terminals/VLTs in bars, taverns, or truck stops outside tribal casinos; the closest analog — paper punch boards and pull-tabs — is licensed separately under the charitable and card-room categories, not as electronic VGTs.
WisconsinNot authorizedNo video-lottery-terminal statute exists outside tribal Class III gaming.
WyomingNot authorizedNo bar/truck-stop video-gaming-terminal program distinct from the capped skill-games category was identified.