{"id":8906,"date":"2025-04-02T06:41:11","date_gmt":"2025-04-02T06:41:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/slategray-wallaby-310340.hostingersite.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/02\/ballys-credit-rating-drops-as-chicago-casino-struggles-with-financing-and-competition\/"},"modified":"2025-04-02T06:41:11","modified_gmt":"2025-04-02T06:41:11","slug":"ballys-credit-rating-drops-as-chicago-casino-struggles-with-financing-and-competition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/casino-online-best.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/02\/ballys-credit-rating-drops-as-chicago-casino-struggles-with-financing-and-competition\/","title":{"rendered":"Bally\u2019s Credit Rating Drops as Chicago Casino Struggles with Financing and Competition"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>Due to growing debt and execution risks associated with its $1.7 billion Chicago casino project, Fitch Ratings downgraded Bally\u2019s Corp. from \u201cB\u201d to \u201cB-.\u201d As the Rhode Island-based gambling operator moves forward with its biggest development to date, the downgrading underscores growing financial duress.<\/p>\n<p>According to Fitch, Bally\u2019s EBITDAR leverage peaked at 7.0x in 2024 and may increase to 8.0x\u20139.0x as a result of fresh debt issuance and lease commitments. Bally\u2019s has raised $940 million in private capital, but it still needs $250 million more through an initial public offering (IPO) that is only open to women and minority investors. There is more uncertainty because the SEC has not yet approved this initiative. In the meanwhile, Bally\u2019s is raising more money by selling $195 million worth of private shares.<\/p>\n<p>Although the company has $620 million available on its revolving credit facility and no major debt maturities until 2028, Fitch warned that liquidity is tightening due to ongoing financial obligations.<\/p>\n<h2>Chicago Casino Faces Market Challenges<\/h2>\n<p>Bally\u2019s permanent casino at 777 W. Chicago Ave. is scheduled to open in September 2026, but faces stiff competition in an already saturated market. High gaming tax rates, the challenge of building customer loyalty, and the underwhelming performance of its temporary Medinah Temple casino all pose risks.<\/p>\n<p>The Medinah Temple location reported revenue of just $8.8 million in February, its lowest monthly total in over a year. Bally\u2019s CEO Robeson Reeves acknowledged the struggles, stating: <em>\u201cThe temporary Chicago casino returns remain below our expectations, though we are hearing from customers that they are increasingly excited by what is starting to happen a few blocks northwest at the permanent site.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"main-org-3-item-ins box-100 relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"space-org-3-items box-100 relative\">\n<div class=\"box-100 space-org-3-item relative border-tb mt-1 \">\n<div class=\"space-org-3-item-ins box-100 relative\">\n<div class=\"space-org-3-item-logo box-25 relative\">\n<div class=\"space-org-3-item-logo-ins box-100 text-center relative\">\n<div class=\"space-org-logo-title-box box-100 text-left relative\">\n<div class=\"space-org-3-item-logo-box box-25 relative img-radius\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/igaming.org\/site\/betus\/\" title=\"Visit Site\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><br \/>\n\t\t<amp-img alt=\"BetUS\" src=\"https:\/\/igaming.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/BetUS.png.webp\" width=\"50\" height=\"50\" layout=\"fixed\"><br \/>\n\t\t<\/amp-img><br \/>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"space-org-3-item-logo-title box-25 relative py-10\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/igaming.org\/site\/betus\/\" title=\"BetUS\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">BetUS<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"space-org-3-item-terms box-25 relative\">\n<div class=\"space-org-3-item-terms-ins box-100 text-center relative\">\n\t\t<strong><strong>Get 125% \/ $2,500 on 1st deposit!<\/strong><\/strong><br \/>\n\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"pt-1\">New players only. Exclusive Welcome Bonus of up to $2,500<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"space-org-3-item-rating box-25 relative mb-10\">\n<div class=\"rating-box text-center box-100  relative\">\n<div class=\"space-org-3-item-rating-box relative\">\n<div class=\"stars\"><span class=\"star on\"><\/span><span class=\"star on\"><\/span><span class=\"star on\"><\/span><span class=\"star on\"><\/span><span class=\"star on\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"space-org-rating-notice relative\">Casino &#038; Sports<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\t\n\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"space-org-3-item-button box-25 relative\">\n<div class=\"space-org-3-item-button-ins box-100 text-center relative\">\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/igaming.org\/site\/betus\/\" title=\"Visit Site\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">\tVisit Site<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Bally\u2019s is also requesting a $300 million property tax relief over a ten-year period, although the idea is still pending before the Rules Committee of the Chicago City Council.<\/p>\n<p>The company\u2019s minority investment initiative is being challenged in two lawsuits supported by conservative organizations. Despite being mandated by the company\u2019s contract with the city, plaintiffs contend that the program discriminates against white male investors.<\/p>\n<p>If Bally\u2019s is able to obtain complete funding for the Chicago project and improve its debt ratios, it may be able to raise its credit rating. In order to alleviate financial burden, the business is also thinking at a sale-leaseback agreement for Twin River Casino, which could bring in $735 million.<\/p>\n<p>The post <a href=\"https:\/\/igaming.org\/casino-news\/ballys-credit-rating-drops-as-chicago-casino-struggles-with-financing-and-competition\/\">Bally\u2019s Credit Rating Drops as Chicago Casino Struggles with Financing and Competition<\/a> appeared first on <a href=\"https:\/\/igaming.org\/\">iGaming.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Due to growing debt and execution risks associated with its $1.7 billion Chicago casino project, Fitch Ratings downgraded Bally\u2019s Corp. from \u201cB\u201d to \u201cB-.\u201d As the Rhode Island-based gambling operator moves forward with its biggest development to date, the downgrading underscores growing financial duress. According to Fitch, Bally\u2019s EBITDAR leverage peaked at 7.0x in 2024 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8906","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":6}},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/casino-online-best.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8906","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/casino-online-best.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/casino-online-best.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/casino-online-best.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/casino-online-best.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8906"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/casino-online-best.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8906\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/casino-online-best.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8906"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/casino-online-best.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8906"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/casino-online-best.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8906"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}