Godfrey Trustees Seek New Way To Limit Video Gaming Licenses

Village of Godfrey Board of Trustees

GODFREY – Godfrey trustees are considering an ordinance which would establish a new way to limit the number of video gaming licenses in the village.

For any business in Illinois to legally operate video gaming terminals (except for truck stops), they must first obtain a liquor license. Trustee Sarah Woodman said she suspects many of the businesses who have applied for liquor licenses in Godfrey have only done so to get approval for video gaming.

Under the village’s current ordinance, if an establishment with a liquor and/or video gaming license goes out of business, that license could potentially be transferred to another entity as the number of licenses allowed in Godfrey would remain the same. This new ordinance would prevent that from happening by decreasing the number of liquor licenses allowed in the village by one each time such a licensed establishment goes out of business.

The 21 Godfrey businesses which currently offer video gaming will be allowed to continue doing so. The three businesses pending approval for video gaming will be sent letters from the Village Board informing them that a new ordinance is being drafted to determine whether their business will qualify for video gaming under the new ordinance.

At Tuesday's Village Board meeting, Mayor Mike McCormick spoke against trustees changing the rules after they had “promised” video gaming licenses for three new businesses – Top Shelf, the Eclipse Car Wash, and the Fullmoon Lounge.

Woodman and Trustee Craig Lombardi said while the village approved liquor licenses for those businesses, they had not yet made any commitments regarding video gaming. Woodman suggested the village take no further action on liquor or video gaming licenses until a new ordinance on the topic is written and approved.

McCormick said each of those businesses had already mentioned video gaming in their business plans, which the Village Board effectively approved when they granted each of them liquor licenses. Village Attorney Bryan Dooling said any business which already had video gaming as part of its business plan could be “grandfathered in” as the new ordinance is finalized.

Trustee Gerard Fischer asked if the village would allow established businesses to keep their liquor licenses when purchased by a new owner who aims to keep the same business running. Dooling said each of those instances should be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

Woodman and Trustee Mike Fisher formed a committee in 2023 to look into setting rules and regulations aimed at limiting video gaming in the village. Trustees ultimately voted to send the ordinance back to their committee for further review and agreed to take no further action on liquor licenses until the ordinance has been finalized.

A full recording of the Oct. 21, 2025 Godfrey Village Board meeting is available at the top of this story or on Riverbender.com/video.

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