Woodstock doesn’t have any video gambling-only establishments – and the city wants to keep it that way.

To that end, the City Council spoke at length recently about the possibility of further regulation of video gambling in town.

Mayor Mike Turner said the city’s regulations have evolved since video gaming was first allowed, but there’s still concerns about getting the right balance of a business having a gaming terminal or two versus a business whose main source of revenue is gambling.

Video-gaming cafes are businesses where video gaming is the primary source of revenue or operations, City Manager Roscoe Stelford said.

And while the city’s regulations on video gaming only cafes are “sound,” they could use some updates to ensure they’re enforceable and explainable, Stelford said.

City staff examined Woodstock’s standards compared with others in the county, and Stelford said one of the best measures to regulate is the percentage of a business’s revenue that comes from gambling compared with food or other sources.

Turner said that while the city doesn’t want gaming-only venues, he added that “video gaming, like it or not, right or wrong, does support the existence of more restaurants in the city of Woodstock than we would otherwise have.”

The mayor said he hears from people who don’t like video gaming, but he also knows people who have a “shoulder-shrug” reaction to it or like it.

Turner said if the city took a “draconian” approach and banned it, Woodstock would lose restaurant, businesses, patrons and revenue and it wouldn’t be good economically.

One local establishment that has gaming machines is 3 Brothers Restaurant off Eastwood Drive. They’re kept in a gaming lounge that separated from the dining area.

Owner Kim Alibi said he’s against having video gaming-only parlors and feels they would not be fair to existing businesses.

“They take all our business from gaming,” Alibi said.

He said he feels there should be a food sale requirement for establishments with video gaming.

Alibi said video gaming is important for restaurants and other businesses because of inflation increasing the cost of doing business. Video gaming revenue can help businesses try to survive, Alibi said.

He said he was aware of the city’s discussions on regulating video gaming and hoped “they do the right thing.”

At a recent City Council meeting, member Bob Seegers said he doesn’t want gaming-only cafes, but was OK with people who qualify having gaming machines.

There also was discussion of capping the overall number of businesses in town that can have a gaming license, but Seegers and others argued that would not be fair.

If a restaurant comes into town but needs a couple gaming machines in the back to make it work, “we’re really disadvantaging people ... when we put a limit on it,” Seegers said.

But the idea of regulating how much revenue an individual business can get from gaming appeared to get more traction with the council, although no final decision was made.

One issue that prompted discussion was the question of what type of food is being served. Some Illinois restaurants, once they get gaming machines, have been known to scale back their food offerings and focus instead on gaming income.

Council member Darrin Flynn said a establishment with a “microwave and the janky pizza oven” or one that serves bags of chips shouldn’t be able to meet the city’s definition of a restaurant.

Council member Gregg Hanson also suggested imposing a one-year waiting period before a new business could get a gaming license.

Hanson also said he doesn’t see the public clamoring for more video gaming. But they do want more local restaurant choices, he said.

A few members of the public asked questions about video gaming rules, including location regulations and businesses being asked about whether they will do video gaming. Much of the public discussion was around restaurants and businesses more generally.

Council member Melissa McMahon said she liked the idea of a waiting period for video gaming and of setting a revenue percentage requirement. She said an establishment selling hot dogs, chips and mozzarella sticks is not a restaurant.

Turner said a one-year waiting period was “an undue burden” and “anti-business.”