Bally’s Faces Mounting Pressure as Chicago Casino Dream Stumbles

Bally’s Corporation finds itself navigating increasingly turbulent waters as its ambitious Chicago casino development faces severe financial headwinds while its established operations continue to hemorrhage money. The dramatic shortfall in a recent public offering has cast serious doubt on the company’s ability to manage its massive debt load while pursuing costly expansion projects.

Investor Skepticism Derails Critical Funding Effort

The company’s attempt to raise capital through a public offering for its Chicago casino project in mid-August 2025 resulted in a stunning disappointment. Instead of the targeted $250 million, the public offering component generated a mere $5.5 million. Even after supplementing this amount with private placements and company funds, the total valuation reached only $96.7 million—a devastating outcome for a project with a $1.7 billion price tag scheduled to open in 2026.

This funding failure stemmed from multiple factors: construction delays caused by legal challenges and regulatory scrutiny, the removal of investor restrictions, and most significantly, widespread skepticism regarding Bally’s financial stability. While approximately 1,000 Chicago residents and 1,500 Illinois investors participated through a community program, their collective contribution proved insufficient to salvage the offering.

Atlantic City Operations Continue Downward Spiral

As Bally’s channels resources into its Chicago venture, its Atlantic City flagship properties continue to underperform. During the first quarter of 2025, Bally’s reported an operating loss of $6.6 million, making it the only casino operator in the city to post negative results. This contrasted sharply with the combined $132 million in profits generated by its eight competitors.

Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying Bally's?

This poor performance reflects broader challenges facing Atlantic City’s gaming industry. The market recorded declining revenue and profits for the third consecutive year in Q1 2025, with net earnings dropping 5.1 percent and operating income plunging 15 percent amid ongoing economic pressures.

Debt Crisis Prompts Credit Rating Downgrade

Bally’s overall financial picture presents concerning indicators. Total revenue declined 4.7 percent to $589.2 million in the first quarter of 2025, primarily due to the 2024 sale of its Asia Interactive business. While the Casinos & Resorts segment saw a 2.6 percent increase driven by four newly acquired Queen Casino properties, this growth proved insufficient to offset broader challenges.

The company’s debt situation appears particularly alarming. With cash reserves of $209.7 million, Bally’s carries a net debt burden of $3.43 billion. In May 2025, Fitch Ratings responded to this precarious financial position by downgrading the company’s credit rating to B- with a negative outlook. The agency cited excessive leverage, execution risks associated with major projects like Chicago, and weaknesses in the North American Interactive division as primary concerns.

The fundamental question facing Bally’s is no longer whether the company can successfully balance ambitious expansion projects against struggling core operations, but how long it can maintain this precarious position before confronting serious financial consequences.