New York casino licenses to be issued in 2025
Although we're barely a month into 2024, hopes that New York regulators will be able to announce the recipients of the state's three casino licenses this year may have been dashed.
The highly anticipated announcement in the first quarter of 2025 is an ambitious timeline, according to some reports. Concerns about the possible winner of New York's casino contest have been heightened by the fact that Gov. Kathy Hochul's budget does not include royalty revenue, and the winning bidder will pay royalties to the state. Speculation that will take a while to be released.
The budget runs until March 31, 2025. Excluding this revenue from the recently proposed budget is bad news for New York, as the three recipients are expected to receive at least $500 million each, if not $1 billion each allowed.
Advance comments from some industry observers reflected the specter of New York's casino licensing process dragging on until 2025, with some describing the competition as a "circus."
Next Steps in the New York Casino Process
The "next big milestone" in New York's casino bidding process is the release of a second round of questions to interested bidders by the Gaming Facilities Locating Commission, which is controlled by the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC), Newsday reports.
The answers to the first round questions were released last August, and the answers to the second round questions were submitted in October last year. However, it is unclear when the latest answer will be announced. This is crucial, as these updates could contain important clues for game companies and determine whether they move forward in New York.
Once the Gaming Facilities Location Committee issues these responses, a 30-day window will open during which casino operators can submit bids to the state. There are rumors that bidding may begin before the end of this quarter. But this seems to be just hopeful speculation.
All told, it looks increasingly unlikely that New York will issue licenses to three downstate casinos before the end of the year.
Other disputes that need to be resolved
In addition to New York's slow regulatory process, there are carrier-specific issues that need to be addressed. For example, Bally's (The Bronx) and Mets owner Steve Cohen and Hard Rock International (Queens) need policymakers to remove parkland designations from where they want them.
On Long Island, Las Vegas Sands and Nassau County are in a dispute with Hofstra University, which claims the county violated New York state when it transferred the lease of Nassau Coliseum to the gaming company. The Open Meetings Act.
If the casino licensing process goes smoothly and these operators fail to address the issues involved, they could be caught off guard and miss the opportunity to apply for a casino license in the largest metropolitan areas in the United States.
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Source: www.casino.org
