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Illinois could give Bally's another year to open permanent Chicago casino
A bill in Springfield would extend the Bally's temporary license to September 2027 amid doubts about the project's long-term viability in Chicago.
The Bally's Chicago casino project is closing in on its original deadline, but it may not stand for long if legislation in the Illinois capitol becomes law. Illinois Rep. Kam Buckner has presented his proposal to give Bally's more time to complete construction of its permanent facility and open the casino.
Bally's pushes for one-year extension on temporary license
According to Mitchell Armentrout and Fran Spielman of the Chicago Sun-Times, Buckner filed the bill "at Bally's behest." Under current Illinois law, temporary casino licenses expire three years after issuance.
Bally's received its temporary license in September 2023, meaning that Bally's needs to have its permanent location in Chicago up and running by September 2026. However, Buckner's bill would carve out an exception for Bally's.
HB 4437 would give Bally's an immediate six-month extension on the license. Bally's could also make use of up to two three-month extensions, potentially pushing the license's sunset out another 12 months.
Buckner is not confident that the extra time will be a guarantee that Bally's will open within that period, or ever, though.
Buckner expresses concerns over Chicago casino progress
Buckner's comments on his legislation seem to mimic concerns that other officials in Illinois have shared regarding the future of Bally's in Chicago.
"The whole thing may be in jeopardy, right? It's fair and healthy to have doubts," Buckner told Armentrout and Spielman. "But the only way to figure that out is to let the process play out another twelve months. All I'm asking for is to give them the space that they need to, hopefully, make this thing work. This is not another three-year extension. It's not a two-year extension. It's a twelve-month extension. You let the process play out. You give them the ability to try to do the work that they're doing to try to stand this up. Twelve months to me is plenty of time to figure out whether or not that will be the case or not."
Armentrout and Spielman also quote Chicago Alderperson Brendan Reilly as describing Bally's as not inspiring "a lot of faith in their ability to execute a plan on operating" in the city on a long-term basis. This potential extension also comes as Chicago has enacted an ordinance to allow businesses with liquor licenses to offer video gaming to customers.
Whether Illinois will consider legalizing iGaming to let the top online casinos into the state is a separate matter. Legislation towards that end has not seen much traction in Springfield in recent years, resistance that would make it hard for Illinois to offer instant withdrawal casinos and online games.
Without the enactment of Buckner's bill, Bally's Chicago may face a daunting task to launch its permanent casino in Chicago. The company's progress hasn't inspired confidence in the state so far.
