Oswego trustees are examining the idea of a cap on video gambling cafes in the village.

The Village Board in May 2013 approved video gambling in Oswego. The number of video gambling establishments in the village became a topic in the municipal election last spring.

Village staff members last week presented recommendations to the Village Board Committee of the Whole concerning video gambling based on a number of factors including responses in a recent community survey.

The village has 29 active video gambling licenses, and one is pending, village officials said.

Village President Ryan Kauffman and Trustee Karin McCarthy-Lange were trustees when the Village Board approved gambling in town in 2013. However, they have advocated for a cap on the number of licenses since the April 2023 municipal election.

“I voted for gaming licenses in the past when (the requests were fewer),” Kauffman said.

“I’m not against gaming overall. I do believe we have an excessive amount in our community,” McCarthy-Lange said.

“I believe there should be a cap,” she said, adding the community survey results show support for a limit on gambling in town.

Trustee Tom Guist has advocated for a cap on video gambling cafes.

“We have been waiting for the survey results to give us an impression … the bottom line I get out of this is that three out of 10 want a reduction in gaming across the board,” Guist said.

Guist said “more respondents want control of gaming cafes than those types of licenses that are ancillary to a business.”

If the main source of income is not gambling for a business, then it is considered ancillary, unlike gambling cafes, village officials said.

“I am willing to put a cap on video gaming cafes, but I do not see why we would affect a restaurant or bar,” Guist said, of those businesses that request video gambling licenses to generate more business.

The village has 12 video gambling cafes in town.

Village trustees appeared to have reached a consensus on restricting video gambling cafes to 15. They also discussed limiting video gambling licenses at gas stations to 11, with a one-half mile distance between one another. There are currently nine gas stations in Oswego that have video gambling licenses.

Village staff members will come back with a proposed ordinance for Village Board members to discuss concerning video gambling, officials said.

Linda Girardi is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.