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It took longer than many might have hoped, but late is definitely better than never for New York casinos. The final version of the New York budget for the fiscal year starting in 2022 gives them exactly what they wanted.
The licensing for up to three new downstate casinos will start nearly immediately instead of next year. The budget also lays out the path for two of the licenses and starts what should be a fierce bidding war for the third.
New York budget bills become law
More than a week past the annual deadline of April 1, both chambers of the legislature in Albany passed budget bills late Friday night. On Monday morning, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the necessary bills into law.
There are multiple ramifications of this reconciliation for the gambling industry in the state. They all pertain to new commercial casinos in the southern parts of the state.
First, the owners of the Empire City Casino in Yonkers and Resorts World New York City in Jamaica (Queens) can start looking toward expansion. Those Class II facilities are now in line for a shiny, new Class III license.
The legislation does not guarantee a license for those two facilities. However, New York Assemblyman Gary Pretlow told Mike Mazzeo of sister site PlayNY that he believes both properties would have no issues obtaining them.
That will mean New York can add retail sports betting, poker, and table games to their video lottery terminals. Whether the casinos will add other amenities or expand in other ways is uncertain right now. As their renovations are ongoing, the New York State Gaming Commission will have other businesses to attend to.
One new casino likely coming to New York City
A bidding process could start soon for the final Class III license in New York. The NYSGC can put out a request for applications as soon as it’s ready now. Before these bills became law, they had to wait until next year to do so.
The new legislation sets the reserve for the bidding at $500 million. The licenses will be good for at least a decade but no more than 30 years. The law sets the floors for revenue sharing as well. Bids must start at 25% for revenue from slot play and 10% for all other gaming revenue.
Additionally, a site review board will assist the Commission in selecting a winner for the seventh license. That might be the Commission’s first action, as the law gives its just 180 days to appoint all six members. By law, those members cannot be state legislators or other people who have been elected to a state-level office.
It’s uncertain right now who might sit on that board. What seems a foregone conclusion, though, is that the casino will likely be somewhere in the New York City metro. Because of that location, some of the world’s largest gambling companies have already shown interest.
Quartet of NY casino operators in – will there be more?
So far, four companies that operate casinos in other US states have confirmed their interest Matthew Waters of Legal Sports Report as much.
“It turns out that you don’t tinker with something that’s successful and it may be premature [to add licenses],” Addabbo said.
“So we threw it out there, we looked at it, we analyzed it a little bit and said, ‘You know what, it may be premature. So let’s do this, let’s take a look at this maybe six or seven months down the road and see what happens.”
Addabbo’s words obviously leave intact the possibility that the state might again look at gambling expansion in the New York state budget for a third consecutive year in 2023. If that ends up being the case, it will likely come after the state issues a new round of commercial casino licenses.
