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- Bally’s paid Chicago its $4 million impact fee despite an ongoing dispute over city-approved video gaming terminals.
- The payment coincides with Bally’s pausing construction on non-gaming elements of its $1.7 billion permanent casino project.
Bally’s Chicago paid the City of Chicago its required $4 million annual community impact fee on Sept. 9, despite an ongoing dispute over the city’s move toward video gaming terminals.
The payment matters because Bally’s had previously signaled it might withhold the money while arguing that Chicago’s VGT plans violate the parties’ Host Community Agreement. The issue now sits alongside a broader slowdown at Bally’s $1.7 billion Chicago casino development, where the company recently halted work on non-gaming components.
Under the Host Community Agreement, the annual payment includes a $2 million direct impact fee and a $2 million indirect impact fee. The obligation is due each year on Sept. 9, the anniversary of Bally’s Chicago opening its temporary casino inside Medinah Temple in 2023.
Bally’s had also previously paid the city a one-time $40 million when the agreement was executed on June 9, 2022.
Construction pause adds pressure to the dispute
The fee payment comes about a month after Bally’s Chicago told its general contractor on Aug. 9 that it was halting construction on all non-gaming parts of the project.
That paused work includes a planned 500-room hotel, 3,000-seat theater, 30,000 square feet of convention space, 10 restaurants and bars, and public greenspace connecting to the Chicago Riverwalk.
According to the source report, Bally’s contends that Chicago moving forward with slot-like VGTs breaches the Host Community Agreement. Chicago City Council approved VGTs as part of its 2026 budget, with officials projecting about $7 million a year in new tax revenue.
Mayor Brandon Johnson has opposed VGTs, and former Mayor Lori Lightfoot also opposed them while negotiating the casino deal with Bally’s.
What the Host Community Agreement says and what comes next
The agreement says Bally’s annual direct and indirect impact fee obligations would be subject to “good-faith renegotiation” if Chicago authorizes a new casino, raises the gaming privilege tax on gross gaming revenue, or authorizes a new form of gambling under the Illinois Gambling Act.
The source report noted that Illinois did not legalize VGTs through the Illinois Gambling Act. Instead, VGTs were authorized under the Video Gaming Act of 2009.
Bally’s executives, including Executive Chairman Soo Kim, are scheduled to provide a project update on Monday, Sept. 14, at 12 pm ET. The company has said the call will “review progress and recent developments.”
That update is the next key event for tracking whether Bally’s resumes paused construction or provides more detail on its dispute with the city.
Source: As reported by casino.org.
