Officials announce recipients of downstate New York casino licenses

Over three years after New York Gov. Kathy Hochul approved the release of three downstate casino licenses, state regulators have finally decided on which brands will have commercial properties around the New York City area.

The Gaming Facility Location Board (GFLB) invited Bally's Bronx in Ferry Point, Metropolitan Park in Queens and Resorts World New York City to apply for the three downstate licenses. With officials now in the homestretch of completing the land-based process, lawmakers will likely turn their attention now toward legalizing casino apps in NY.

Around a dozen plans had emerged after New York officials opened the application process for downstate casino licensing three years ago, including from renowned brands like Caesars and MGM and from big names such as Jay-Z and New York Mets owner Steven Cohen.

Now, only three parties remain – and all three were invited by the GFLB to apply for downstate NY casino licenses.

Resorts World NYC serves as an existing racino, which made the group an essential shoo-in to earn a license. Bally's Bronx, meanwhile, proposed a $4 billion facility in Ferry Point while Cohen's Metropolitan Park near Citi Field – carrying the Hard Rock flag – also received a GFLB recommendation for licensing.

While work still remains before state regulators actually issue those licenses, let alone before at least two of the three properties actually open, lawmakers will certainly waste little time to refocus legislative attention to legalize iGaming and begin competing with neighboring NJ online casino and PA online casino industries.

While state regulators slogged through the downstate casino licensing, legislators such as Sen. Joseph Addabbo Jr. attempted to push bills across the finish line to finally legalize casino games online in New York. All the while, though, the rationale went that state officials would not do so until the downstate licensing process was complete.

There's little doubt that Addabbo will introduce another proposal as the calendar turns to the new year – and perhaps push it with even more gusto than before now that the downstate process nears its end.

The most recent bill, S2624, could be reformatted for reintroduction, a bill that granted NY online casino licenses to land-based operators, video lottery terminals, licensed online sportsbooks and federally recognized tribes that hold gaming compacts with the Empire State.

That would create nearly 20 NY online casinos, including some of the top brands in the regulated industry that New Yorkers could sign up with using the following:

Addabbo has long argued that NY online casinos would help the state cut into its steep budget deficit, which is projected to be a three-year budget gap of $34.3 billion through fiscal year 2029. That said, a heavy-hitting labor union that represents thousands of land-based casino workers has strongly opposed iGaming legalization, fearing cannibalization.

Perhaps, though, this will be the year that the two sides can come to an agreement and allow New York to compete with online casinos in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, which have greatly benefited from NY residents for years.

Grant Lucas