Bally’s Offers Airport Slot Lounges as Chicago Video Gambling Fight Escalates
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CHICAGO: Bally’s has offered to install slot machine lounges at O’Hare and Midway airports as Chicago weighs whether to reverse its video gambling plan.
The proposal gives city officials another revenue option, but it also deepens a political fight over casino jobs, neighborhood gambling and Chicago’s host agreement with Bally’s.
Christopher Jewett, Bally’s senior vice president for corporate development, told aldermen that each of O’Hare’s four passenger terminals and Midway’s single terminal could support one slot lounge. He said one lounge could generate about $5 million in gaming and admission taxes for the city.
Bally’s Pitches Airport Slots as Revenue Substitute
The airport proposal came during a City Council committee hearing tied to Chicago’s decision to lift its ban on video gambling terminals. The city’s 2026 budget assumes $6.8 million in revenue from licensing newly legal video gambling terminals in bars, restaurants and other eligible venues.
That estimate is based on roughly 80% of 3,300 eligible establishments with off-premise liquor licenses applying for licenses. It also assumes the Illinois Gaming Board would take six to eight months to approve those licenses.
Jewett said Bally’s believes airport slot lounges could replace the revenue at issue. He argued that the city already has a path to airport gaming because the Illinois General Assembly previously authorized Bally’s to install slot machines at O’Hare and Midway.
Ald. Anthony Beale, one of the strongest City Council supporters of video gambling terminals, pushed back on that argument. He said airport revenue would have to remain in the enterprise fund that supports airport operations, meaning it would not automatically solve the wider city budget gap created by repealing video gambling authorization.
Video Gambling Plan Splits City Council
The dispute has divided aldermen and increased tension between City Council members and Mayor Brandon Johnson. Johnson has raised objections to legal video gambling, including concerns that it could conflict with Chicago’s host agreement with Bally’s.
Bally’s operates a temporary casino at Medinah Temple while it develops its permanent casino and entertainment complex in River West. The company has warned that allowing video gambling terminals across Chicago could cut annual city revenue by $74 million and threaten as many as 1,050 jobs tied to its casino operations.
Jewett told aldermen that Bally’s signed the host agreement on the assumption that Chicago would continue to prohibit video gambling terminals. He said the company would not have accepted its commitments if it had known the city would later allow a competing form of gambling.
Supporters of video gambling have questioned those warnings. Beale described job and revenue-loss estimates as speculative and criticized the committee hearing before moving to adjourn the meeting.
Hearing Ends Before Vote on Repeal Plan
The hearing ended abruptly after Beale clashed with Business Affairs and Consumer Protection Commissioner Ivan Capifali over enforcement and illegal sweepstakes machines. Capifali said he did not want to discuss sweepstakes machines during the hearing and framed his comments around the department’s implementation concerns.
Sweepstakes-style machines have been a separate point of friction in Chicago because they resemble slot machines while operating in a legal gray area. Beale accused city officials of failing to address those machines while trying to block regulated video gambling terminals.
The committee did not reach a final vote before the meeting ended. That leaves legal video gambling terminals still on track for Chicago bars and restaurants unless aldermen move forward with a citywide repeal.
The next step is uncertain. Johnson’s allies are trying to build support for reversing the video gambling ordinance, while supporters of the terminals argue the city should keep the budgeted revenue source and stop relying on Bally’s projections.
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