NEW YORK | Casino Development| FT| FLOORS

[NYguy]

https://www.cityandstateny.com/polic...ensing/397463/

How New York stands to win big on downstate casino licensing


By PHENIX KIM
JUNE 18, 2024

Experts at City & State’s inaugural “Who’s who in casinos and sports betting” event suggested New York on its revenue streams last year alone could exceed gambling heavy cities like Las Vegas. They noted to attendees at Hebrew Union College in Manhattan that the state brought in more than $4.7 billion in gaming revenue in 2023, including $700 million from video lotteries, $850 million from sports wagering and over $150 million in commercial casinos.

However, even though gaming is thriving in New York, there remain significant delays to downstate casino licensing, a process which has been waiting approval since 2022, said state Sen. Joseph P. Addabbo Jr., chair of the Committee on Racing, Gaming and Wagering. “We should not be at this point, two years after the legislative process and the legislative vote,” Addabbo said.

“[The] legislation should be signed, because we are done, or should be done talking about possibilities,” he continued. “We should know where these sites are, we should know what the issues are, we should be able to start to satisfy these issues. But we cannot, because this process hasn’t started. And that's a major reason why we need to start this process. We need to know where these sites are, we need to know what exactly the issues are, we cannot until we get this process started.”

With the state Senate and Assembly last week approving a bill that would move up the deadline for downstate licensing to August 31 from mid-2025, licenses could be issued sooner and generate funding to help the Metropolitan Transportation Authority replace congestion pricing, Addabbo said. However, once applications are made, bidders should select realistic sites that comply with New York’s zoning and land-use laws, Assembly Member J. Gary Pretlow, Chair of the Committee on Racing and Wagering, told attendees.

“It’s not really our responsibility to ensure that a potential bidder has land that's suitable to build a casino. These land use laws have been in the books probably since the early 1900s,” Pretlow said. “Anyone who is interested in building a casino should be well aware [of these laws] and not pick a spot, knowing that it's going to be next to impossible to get zoning, and then try to have us change the law to allow their location to become eligible for a casino.”