Digital Wager Wire highlights the most important events impacting the domestic and international sports betting and gaming industry each week throughout the year.
New York’s Downstate Casino Application Deadline Arrives
What started as 11 possible bidders for three downstate casino licenses in New York has now dropped to eight. The submission deadline for applications was June 27th, and the licenses are expected to be awarded in December.
All of the major players are promising billions of dollars to build or renovate existing structures and bring economic prosperity to the regions in which they are located, but it is up to the committee to determine which three are the best fit for New York’s boroughs.
The Front-Runners
Of the eight bidders, Resorts World NYC, owned by Malaysian firm Genting, has the inside track, as they are currently housed at Aqueduct Racetrack and have one of the most profitable slot parlors in the nation. The company plans to invest $5.5 billion into the structure with a full gaming license, including table games and a renovated hotel.
MGM Resorts also has a leg up on the competition as it operates the city’s other racino, known as the Empire City Casino at the Yonkers Raceway. Like Resorts World, extensive renovations will be part and parcel of the project should it receive one of the three coveted licenses.
Ambitious New Proposals
Mets owner Steve Cohen and Hard Rock International have what is perhaps the most opulent vision for a new hotel and casino located at Citi Field, which includes an $8 billion investment and public housing for its thousands of employees and community residents.
Mohegan Sun’s project, Freedom Plaza, is spearheaded by the Soloviev Group and is dedicated to building a facility and 1,000 housing units on the East Side between 38th and 41st streets.
Other Notable Contenders
SL Green, Caesars Palace, and Roc Nation have targeted Times Square as the location for a hotel and casino, but traffic congestion has been a concern despite it being the smallest project of the eight.
Larry Silverstein, who developed the World Trade Center, along with partners Rush Street Gaming and Greenwood Gaming, has landed on a skyscraper located at 41st Street and 11th Avenue. Hyatt would be responsible for the hotel.
Providence-based Bally’s Corporation already owns Bally’s Links golf course at Ferry Point in the Bronx and would use that location to build a casino on its property and a 500-room hotel to accommodate guests.
Lastly, Coney Island, aka The Coney, has been designated as the site of a casino and a 500-room hotel, to be developed by Thor Equities, Saratoga Casino Holdings, and the Chickasaw Nation.
Could Quebec Be the New Frontier for Private Online Gaming Platforms?
Quebec’s provincial elections are a year away, but it is soon enough for the Quebec Online Gaming Coalition to campaign for private gaming operators to convince legislators and residents that their inclusion in the online gaming industry is a win for all concerned.
Betway, Bet99, DraftKings, Entain, Flutter (FanDuel’s parent company), Games Global, and Rush Street Interactive, partnering with Apricot Investments, comprise the coalition, and those who like mobile sports betting or iGaming boil down to one option: the government-owned and operated Loto-Québec.
As of this moment, the online gaming industry is exclusively controlled by the government, but studies have shown that introducing private industry will increase the activity of online gaming and result in more tax money for the province. It has been successfully launched before in Washington, DC, when GambetDC was the District’s only option.
Ontario already has private firms operating in its market, and Alberta is expected to follow suit next year. More options allow more participants, which leads to higher revenues, and Quebec is the latest Canadian province to be targeted.
Ariane Gauthier, spokesperson for the Quebec Online Gaming Coalition, said during an interview at June’s Canadian Gaming Summit, “For us, the 2026 election is an opportunity, an additional opportunity, to bring this issue into the platforms of all political parties and to have a government that will take on this challenge starting in 2026.”
