Eight months after launching its $250 million initial public offering, Bally’s Chicago is making a final push to solicit investors and complete the long-stalled offering within weeks.
The IPO, which has navigated lawsuits and regulatory delays, was refiled for a second time July 15 with the Securities and Exchange Commission to update the company’s financials, according to the company.
Bally’s Chicago is hoping to get SEC approval and close the offering by early August, according to a note to prospective investors Wednesday.
“It’s still under review by the SEC,” said Chris Jewett, Bally’s senior vice president of corporate development. “But we feel like we are hopefully closer to being able to launch.”
Bally’s Chicago opened the $250 million IPO in January exclusively for women and minorities to buy a 25% equity stake in the casino, looking to fulfill a commitment to the city and raise money for the construction of its planned $1.7 billion entertainment complex in River West. In April, Bally’s refiled and expanded the IPO to include any potential investors, with “preferential allocations” to Chicago and Illinois residents.
Chicago-based Loop Capital Markets serves as the lead placement agent for the IPO, which initially was limited to Blacks, Asian Americans, Hispanics and other “socially disadvantaged” people as defined by city guidelines. The elimination of the minority requirements in the IPO came as Bally’s and the city faced two lawsuits in Chicago federal court alleging the investment opportunity discriminated against white men.
A discrimination lawsuit brought by Wilmette resident Mark Glennon was dismissed April 30 — eight days after the first IPO refiling with the SEC. In June, Bally’s and the city settled a similar lawsuit brought by the American Alliance for Equal Rights, according to court filings.
The IPO creates 10,000 Class A shares featuring four classes of stock ranging from $250 to $25,000, supplemented by loans from Bally’s Chicago to enable “underrepresented communities” to participate.
Jewett said he is confident the Bally’s Chicago IPO will be fully subscribed and that it will help fulfill the casino’s minority equity requirement, despite being opened up to all investors.
“There is definitely (investor) interest, for sure,” Jewett said Wednesday.
In May 2022, Rhode Island-based Bally’s was selected to build the Chicago casino, besting finalists Rivers Casino and Hard Rock with a proposal that includes an exhibition hall, a 500-room hotel, a 3,000-seat theater, 10 restaurants and 4,000 gaming positions.
But Bally’s Chicago, which has been operating a temporary casino at Medinah Temple since September 2023, has hit some bumps in the road on the way to building the permanent casino.
Bally’s navigated a one-month demolition stoppage in December after construction debris from the remnants of the Freedom Center, once the largest newspaper printing plant in North America, spilled into the river.
In May, construction was shut down for two weeks by the Illinois Gaming Board to investigate the use of an unauthorized subcontracted waste hauler previously alleged to have had ties to organized crime. Bally’s got the green light to resume construction after booting the waste hauler and agreeing to a better vendor vetting process.
The permanent casino remains on target, however, to be opened by September 2026, Jewett said.
“The tower crane just went up, steel is starting to get delivered,” Jewett said. “Hundreds of thousands of tons of steel are going to come in over time. The main building construct is steel and concrete.”
Given the success of recent permanent casino openings at Wind Creek in the south suburbs and Hard Rock in Rockford, and with Hollywood Joliet set to open its new land-based casino next month, Bally’s Chicago is eager to get its planned casino complex at the former site of the Chicago Tribune printing plant up and running.
Rivers Casino Des Plaines was once again the state’s top casino in June with $40.3 million in adjusted gross receipts, followed by newcomer Wind Creek, which generated nearly $16.8 million in revenue, according to Gaming Board data.
Hard Rock Rockford ranked third with $12.2 million in revenue during June, followed by Grand Victoria in Elgin at $11.9 million and Bally’s Chicago at $10.7 million.
Through the first six months of 2025, the state’s 17 casinos have generated $954 million in adjusted gross receipts, up nearly $127 million or 15.3% over last year, according to Gaming Board data. The casinos totaled more than 7.6 million visitors, up 1.5 million or 24% year over year.
Most of that growth came from the opening of Wind Creek Chicago Southland in November, which has quickly become the second busiest casino in the state behind perennial leader Rivers. During the first six months of 2025, Wind Creek topped $96 million in revenue and welcomed 1.1 million guests.
Rivers Casino generated nearly $250 million in adjusted gross receipts and saw nearly 1.5 million admissions through June, according to Gaming Board data.
Hollywood Joliet, one the state’s original riverboat casinos, ranked ninth during the first six months with $43.4 million in revenue, but it expects business to boom with the planned opening next month of a new $185 million land-based casino.
Bally’s Chicago, which has been flat through June, ranking fifth in revenue at $63 million and fourth in admissions at 649,000, is hoping for a similar boost next year when its permanent casino opens, Jewett said.
“The temporary served a purpose,” Jewett said. “It was to start generating tax revenue, creating jobs and really building up to what the permanent is. It was never meant to be the permanent in itself. It’s a good experience, beautiful building, good location, but it’s not the permanent.”
