Canadian gaming operator Gateway Casinos & Entertainment is signalling that its planned acquisition and listing on the New York Stock Exchange might be in trouble.

In the dying days of 2019, Toronto-based private equity firm Catalyst Capital Group announced plans to merge its Gateway Casinos business with US-based Leisure Acquisition Corp (LAC), a publicly traded ‘special purpose acquisition company’ of the type that is currently all the rage with private gaming operators looking to go public.

The C$1.5b (US$1.1b) transaction was supposed to result in Gateway being listed on the NYSE following the deal’s completion this April. But that deadline was eventually delayed until June 30, and last week LAC shareholders voted to extend the deadline all the way to December 1, assuming neither party throws in the towel over the next couple weeks.

LAC filed papers two weeks ago stating that it was “unlikely” that the parties would finalize the deal by June 30 while warning  that either party had the right to walk away from the table if the marriage remains unconsummated by July 15.