Three bids for downstate brick-and-mortar casino licenses have been submitted to New York’s Gaming Facility Board, with the final decision from the state’s Gaming Commission expected in December.
The awarding of the licenses, state Senator Joseph Addabbo hopes, is the next step of gambling expansion in New York that will ultimately extend to online casinos.
Addabbo’s message to regulators and his fellow lawmakers in Albany: Finalize these licenses, then let’s focus on passing an iGaming bill in 2026.
“Once you [award the licenses] by December, you have now cleared the way to discuss other gaming issues,” Addabbo told Sweepsy last week, “because that is a monumental decision to be made, these three licenses, and it has taken up a lot of our attention.”
Will New York license two or three downstate casinos?
In a move last week that surprised the gambling industry, MGM pulled its bid for a New York casino, leaving three companies in the running for three potential licenses.
Hard Rock (Metropolitan Park) and Genting Group (Resorts World) have both submitted bids for sites in Queens, while Bally’s is eyeing the Bronx.
The state does not have to award licenses to all three, however. It may decide to grant only two.
While some have speculated that the state going with just two could provide extra motivation for lawmakers to legalize iGaming, Addabbo – chairman of the state Senate Committee on Racing, Gaming and Wagering and the chief legislative proponent of iGaming – wants to see all three remaining bidders approved.
“These three remaining standing applicants, to me, are duly owed the license,” Addabbo said. “It may not be the scenario we all thought of, but nevertheless they have all complied. I don’t see how you don’t give these three licenses.”
Legal, economic consequences of awarding two
Should only two licenses be awarded, Addabbo is wary of potential legal action from the company that is left out.
Moreover, holding back one of the licenses doesn’t make economic sense.
“Why would you leave a license on the shelf that also equates to hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for a city and state (the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, specifically), thousands of construction jobs, thousands of post-construction jobs,” Addabbo asked rhetorically.
Land-based casinos today, online tomorrow
Whether it’s two downstate licenses or three, Addabbo believes the state should settle the brick-and-mortar matter and move on to what’s potentially a far larger revenue driver: iGaming.
The timing, he says, is perfect. Once regulators make the decision by the Dec. 31 deadline, the legislature can reconvene in January with a fresh focus on the budget.
“We are surrounded by other states that have [iGaming] — New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut,” Addabbo said. “Worse than that, we have a robust, illegal market that is very unsafe for New Yorkers.
“You’re losing about a billion dollars in revenue every year from these other states and from the illegal market.”
Facing a $3 billion budget gap, in addition to healthcare cuts at the federal level, Addabbo sees iGaming as a means to create significant sustainable revenue.
If you’re the state of New York and Gov. Kathy Hochul, Addabbo implores, “You may not want to do iGaming in New York; you may need to do iGaming in New York.”
