Las Vegas-style Casinos Are Coming to New York
Las Vegas-style resort casinos are coming to New York after the state Gaming Commission approved three new developments from Hard Rock, Bailly’s and Resorts World.
The Hard Rock casino and hotel will be near the New York Mets’ home in Queens, Bailly’s will develop their resort at a Bronx golf course and Resorts World is set to build out its existing facility at the Aqueduct horse racing venue near JFK International Airport.
The licenses were approved on condition that the companies submit to regular outside oversight to ensure they meet their financial and legal obligations, which includes making investments into their respective local communities, with each company promising $500 billion in investments.
In particular, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has earmarked close to $2 billion in revenue to be allocated towards improving the city’s public transit system, which includes making subway stations more accessible, as well as expanding the city’s transport system to allow for freer movement around the city.
The Democratic New York Governor, Kathy Hochul, praised the news, stating that the projects would pump billions of dollars into the state’s economy and create tens of thousands of jobs.
However, the decision has been met with opposition from protestors who fear that the increase in the number of casinos in the state will cause more people to develop gambling addictions.
The group has accused the Gaming Commission of putting profit above the well-being of the state’s residents, shouting “You picked a billionaire over New Yorkers! Shame on you!” as they walked out of the meeting.
The State of Play in New York
Online sports betting is big business in New York, but online casinos remain illegal. The State has taken some aggressive measures against other forms of gambling of late, including a crackdown on online sweepstakes casinos and offshore casinos that allow access to New York residents.
Sweepstakes casinos that follow the dual-currency system were banned immediately after the signing of Bill S5935A at the beginning of December. The Bill was previously passed in June, and now that it is in effect, any party found guilty of violating the law faces fines of up to $100,000, as well as the loss of their gaming license.
There have been signs that New York will relax its rules on online casino gambling of late, but it appears that the state has a clear vision of how that is going to happen. These three huge new resorts should form the lynchpin of a gambling revolution in the Big Apple, and as in other states there is a chance that they could be granted a license to provide online gambling services to New York residents on access grounds.
The Gaming Facility Location Board estimates that the three new casinos will bring in around $14.5 billion in taxes from 2027 to 2036, in gambling revenue taxes, licensing fees, state and regional taxes. Opening up the iGaming side of the regulations could send those figures even higher.
