Bally’s Chicago: Are Liquidity Issues Behind Casino Construction Slowdown?

_{Billions of dollars in long-term debt caused Bally's stock to tumble over 26% on Monday. (Photo: Goran Bogicevic / Alamy)}

Bally’s issued a going concern warning in its second-quarter earnings filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Friday, saying that the company is looking to raise cash due to liquidity issues plaguing the casino giant.

Going concern warnings are necessary for auditors to issue when they believe a company may default on its debt within the next 12 months.

Bally’s Blames VGTs, Not Debt

Bally’s has reported $4.51 billion in long-term debt. Investors showed their concern on Monday, with shares in Bally’s plunging more than 26% as of the close of trading on Aug. 17.

Bally’s did report revenues of $792.2 million for Q2 2026, up 20.5% year-over-year. But it still lost $56.4 over the first half of the year, its market capitalization sits at only around $500 million, and the firm has already paid a total of $615 million this year in licensing fees and an additional payment to the Trump Organization for Bally’s Bronx, its upcoming New York City casino.

The debt issues are nothing new, though the severity of the issue may not have been fully understood until Friday’s filing. And the timing of the announcement has led to renewed questions over why the company announced a slowdown on construction of non-gaming amenities at its Bally’s Chicago complex earlier this month.

Bally’s said that the slowdown came in response to plans from the Chicago City Council to allow video gaming terminals (VGTs) at bars, restaurants, and bowling alleys in the city. The company maintains that this decision violates the Host Community Agreement that was negotiated when Bally’s agreed to build the $1.7 billion resort, and has also said it will withhold an annual $4 million payment to Chicago in September if the issue isn’t resolved by then.

According to Bally’s, these decisions had nothing to do with the going concern warning or the company’s debt load, saying that “there has been no change to the status of Bally’s Chicago’s construction.”

“The going concern disclosure is based on a forward-looking technical accounting analysis which considers only funding that has been unconditionally secured as of the date of the assessment,” Bally’s said in a statement. “Bally’s Chicago has consistently demonstrated its ability to execute this project, including advancing construction ahead of the original Host Community Agreement deliverable timeline. We remain focused and committed to opening the permanent casino in early 2027.”

City Council Sees Excuses, Demands Bally’s Deliver on Promises

But 28 members of the Chicago City Council signed on to a letter last week arguing that Bally’s was violating the Host Community Agreement by slowing construction. Several alders argued that the casino firm was using VGTs as an excuse to cover up the real reason for the slowdown: financial issues.

“Many of us suspect that this is really a cash flow issue for Bally’s,” Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd Ward) told the Chicago Sun-Times. “They’ve told their own investors that they are heavily leveraged and have over $5 billion in debt, and that encumbrance could have a negative impact on their future operations.”

Bally’s maintains that the Chicago project is completely funded, buoyed in part by the $940 million it received from Gaming and Leisure Properties in 2024.

“There has been no change to the status of Bally’s Chicago construction,” the company said in a statement. “Bally’s Chicago remains well situated to continue delivering on its obligations.” 

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