Understand any stock in simple English
Enter a ticker to learn what the company does and how it makes money.
Accel Entertainment puts video gaming terminals and amusement machines into bars, restaurants, and other local businesses and takes a cut of the money players spend.
Accel Entertainment is a distributed gaming company. It places video gaming terminals — basically slot machines — and amusement devices like pool tables and dart machines into neighborhood bars, restaurants, truck stops, and fraternal clubs, then shares the money those machines earn with the business owner.
The model works because of where the machines sit and who runs them. In Illinois, the company's home market, state law lets licensed operators put gaming terminals in places that already have a liquor license, so Accel handles the licensing, installs and services the machines, and splits the revenue with the bar or restaurant. Accel started in 2012 and grew fast by acquiring smaller operators, and it now runs thousands of terminals across Illinois and several other states. Its size gives it an edge: it can navigate thick local rulebooks, service machines quickly, and negotiate better terms on equipment. The business throws off steady cash, and management has spent it on more than just new machines. It has bought back a meaningful chunk of its own shares — roughly a fifth of the company since 2022 — and made acquisitions to expand into new states. That growth is also the main risk. Accel's fortunes depend heavily on state gaming laws, and any change to tax rates, licensing rules, or which businesses can host machines can hit revenue fast. Competition comes from other route operators, and in some states from casinos and online betting pulling players away.
Illinois remains the heart of the company, but Accel has been pushing into states like Pennsylvania and Nebraska, where regulated distributed gaming is newer or still taking shape. It is a simple business at its core: a bar owner gets a cut, the state gets its tax, and Accel keeps the rest for handling the machines and the paperwork.
Saved answer · last researched 15 Nov 2026