Several downstate casino projects have been proposed but it appears as though more regulatory red tape will keep the state from accepting applications for three available NY gaming licenses for at least another six months, which would mean it could be late 2025 or later before those licenses are awarded.
Delays on the Way
According to a recent report, the New York Gaming Commission won’t be accepting license applications until the City Council approves a land use change that will be necessary to build casinos in the city’s five boroughs. It is just another in a long line of delays that has frustrated many of the state’s politicians.
“I think the word frustrating just doesn’t capture my emotions,” state Sen. Joseph Addabbo Jr., a Queens Democrat, said.
Commission Chairman Brian O’Dwyer commented, “It’s important the Gaming Facility Location Board get the maximum number of applicants. And if we’re talking about, it’s been so long now. If we’re talking about another five or six months and potentially disqualifying reasonable, serious applicants, I think it’s worth taking that time to do it.”
In an official statement by the Commission, it said, “The Board is cognizant of the many factors relating to the zoning requirement, including New York City’s proposed text amendment relating to gaming facilities and of the many zoning-related questions posed by applicants during the first two rounds of questions. The updated timeline, expected to be finalized soon, will consider these and other factors.”
The land use change will need to be approved by the Gaming Facility Location Board, and once that happens, then the next series of dominoes begin to fall. The Commission further stated, “The Gaming Facility Location Board will provide applicants a reasonable amount of time to obtain zoning approval for their proposed projects – a statutory requirement for Board consideration.”
Bidders Left in the Dark
The many committees, commissions and bureaucratic red tape that has emerged since the decision was made to award three downstate casino licenses is flummoxing all parties concerned. For instance, the respective chairs of both chambers’ gaming committees, Sen. Joseph Addabbo Jr. and Assemblymember J. Gary Pretlow, are eager to see their districts reap the rewards of the new revenue source that will flow when casinos are open for business.
But the longer the delay, the more embittered they become, and those powerful corporations with billion-dollar ideas for various sites around the city must grin and bear it.
One anonymous source with ties to one of the projects said, “Anybody who tells you that they know when these responses are going to happen, and what the timeline is going to be for this process entirely, is just lying because that’s a complete unknown.”
“This is the fight of our life,” the person added.
Assemblyman Pretlow said, “I’m just disappointed with the delay that we’re experiencing, because not only are we missing the licensing revenue, but we’re missing income tax revenue from the people that would be working there. In light of the deficit that we have in this year’s budget, if we had an extra billion and a half dollars in the coffers, we’d definitely restore a lot of the cuts that were made in this year’s budget.”
