European Gaming Lawyer magazine Autumn 2015 | Page 21

Regulator of the Year 2015 – North America
Mark Ostrowski
Administrator/Executive Director, Illinois Gaming Board

MARK OSTROWSKI has spent the past
fourteen years with the Illinois Gaming
Board (IGB), first as the Chief Legal Counsel
of the IGB from 2001 to 2005. In 2005,
he became the Administrator/Executive
Director of the IGB, responsible for the
day-to-day operation of regulatory and
criminal law enforcement oversight for the
Illinois casino and video gaming industries.
Prior to joining the IGB, he worked in
private law practice with the Chicago law
firm of Clausen Miller, PC, from 1999 to
2001. Mr. Ostrowski started his legal career
as a prosecutor with the Cook County
State’s Attorney’s Office from 1990 to 1999.
He worked a majority of his career within
the felony trial division. Mr. Ostrowski has
spent twenty-six years as a trial attorney
and regulator. He is a graduate of Creighton
University, Omaha, Nebraska, receiving
a Bachelor of Science degree in business
administration in 1986 and a Juris Doctorate
in 1989.
In a recent interview, Mr. Ostrowski
stated that the highlights of his regulatory
career thus far include bringing the Emerald
litigation to an acceptable conclusion after
over ten years of legal battles, thus allowing
the tenth Illinois Riverboat license to be
activated. Another accomplishment of

which he is proud is getting video gaming in
Illinois implemented and activated within
three years of introduction of the 2009
legislation. In these three years, the IGB had
“no funding, no resources, no staffing, no
infrastructure.” By 2012, under his directive,
Illinois went from no video gaming to
transforming a former amusement industry
into the present video industry operating
approximately twenty-one thousand
machines in over five thousand locations,
becoming one of the largest video gaming
jurisdictions in the world. He and his team
accomplished this feat by developing a
comprehensive set of rules, putting a central
system in place, and providing a regulatory
perspective to the former “grey games” of
the amusement industry. A fellow regulator,
recognizing the difficult market in which
Mr. Ostrowski regulates, stated, “Mark
and his team recognized the legislation’s
shortcomings and worked closely with
communities, local retail establishments
and the industry to maximize the legislative
intent as much as possible.” Another
associate stated, “with the implementation of
video gaming, Mark successfully introduced
an entirely new gaming industry to Illinois,
all while maintaining effective regulation of
the ten riverboat casinos in the state.”

Other accomplishments include
transforming three riverboats into “landbased like casinos” and rebuilding two
riverboats after the devastation of fire and
flood. According to one fellow regulator,
another accomplishment is “ensuring”
effective regulatory programming on
the issue and the promotion of problem
gambling treatment for those in need.”
Further, Mr. Ostrowski’s recognition of
this critical issue “speaks to his judgment
in gaming regulation and in maintaining
the best interests of the public.” He is also
responsible for administering one of the
country’s most successful self-exclusion
programs. Established during his tenure
in 2002, over twelve thousand people are
getting help with their gambling problem
through use of the voluntary exclusion
program. An associate stated, “Mark leads
the effort to coordinate with the Illinois
Department of Human Services to ensure
that the latest research is reflected in all
IGB programs for responsible gaming.
Additionally, Mark assisted in executing an
important new law in Illinois to intercept
delinquent child support payments from the
winnings of casino patrons.”
Addressing the challenges he has faced,
Mr. Ostrowski stated that one challenge
as a regulator is working with the video
industry to teach and educate about the
value of a compliance-based industry. Other
challenges and accomplishments include
his “developing working relationships with
professionals in the industry, having them
understand that regulatory and criminal
law enforcement oversight is not personal;
it is about developing a sense of fairness in
the industry. If a licensee does something
well, we give them credit for it; if they make
mistakes or engage in poor conduct, we
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