As a New York court was issuing a decision reversing a lower-court ruling that supported a lawsuit blocking Las Vegas Sands from leasing a 72-acre site for a potential gaming resort, the company’s CEO was expressing his concern about online gaming’s impact on land-based casinos.
Sands has proposed developing a $6bn casino and resort complex around Nassau Coliseum, the former home of the National Hockey League’s New York Islanders on Long Island, that has been opposed by Hofstra University, which is located across the street from the complex.
Hofstra has sued Nassau County seeking to block the lease with Sands.
“I have always been the biggest advocate for New York and other jurisdictions,” CEO Robert Goldstein told analysts Wednesday (October 23) of the company's efforts to grow its casino business in new markets.
“The only concern I have these days is the ongoing strength of online gambling,” Goldstein said.
Goldstein said the expectation is that the 11 bidders seeking three downstate casino licenses will be required to submit applications in Spring 2025 and that he learned Wednesday morning that a decision will be made in the first quarter of 2026, instead of by the end of 2025.
MGM Resorts International and Genting, which operate the Empire City and Resorts World video lottery facilities in Yonkers and Queens respectively, are among companies expected to submit applications for a full casino-resort license.
If both Genting and MGM are licensed, that would leave Sands, Wynn Resorts, Caesars Entertainment, Hard Rock and several others in contention for the third and final license available under a 2013 state constitutional amendment.
But the potential legalization of iGaming in New York, combined with the scale of a casino-resort project required to secure a license, is a matter of concern, according to Goldstein.
“You can’t ignore that’s happening in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Michigan,” Goldstein said. “But we build capital-intense buildings that require a long-term perspective. It's just a concern, and it's something I've been looking at closely.
“I'd love to be in New York with the right capital structure and the right licensure process. But that's the new wrinkle as far as the process, New York itself has not changed.”
Goldstein said sometime in the next year or two, online gaming revenues will exceed land-based revenues in New Jersey, which he described as “pretty exceptional”.
New York state Senator Joe Addabbo, a Democrat and chairman of the Committee on Racing, Gaming and Wagering, is expected to reintroduce another bill to legalize online casinos when the New York legislature reconvenes in Albany next year.
During the 2024 session, Addabbo introduced Senate Bill 8185 that would have legalized online casino games such as blackjack and roulette with a proposed 30.5 percent tax rate and a $2m licensing fee. The bill was introduced in Addabbo’s committee but never received a vote before the legislature adjourned.
Many industry observers believe that any iGaming bill introduced in New York would have a difficult time being approved at least until after the current land-based casino licensing process is concluded, although iGaming advocates have also positioned the sector as a quick-fire source of new revenue for the state.
Under current state law, three downstate casinos can be built in commercial locations within and around New York City, with each license costing a minimum of $500m.
With New York expected to consider legalizing online gaming next year, Vitaly Umansky, an analyst with Seaport Global, asked Goldstein if Sands would re-evaluate its proposal if a bill passes.
“It goes beyond that,” Goldstein said. “If any market does legalize it, you have to think, what does it mean to me, my capital investment? And I think whether it’s New York, Michigan, or Florida, any place that’s online, it makes you stop and scratch your head.”
Goldstein expected some resolution of the issue.
“I'm not saying I’ll tell you definitely, but you can't ignore that possibility when you see the impact of online in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Michigan and probably other four states are coming online, you can't ignore the impact on land-based revenue.”
Also on Wednesday, New York’s second-highest court reversed a lower-court ruling that supported Hofstra University’s lawsuit to keep Nassau County from leasing its coliseum site to Sands.
In a three-page decision, the New York State Appellate Division, Second Judicial Department, returned Hofstra’s lawsuit to Nassau County Supreme Court requiring more information.
The Appellate Division Court ruled the lower court rushed in reaching its conclusion that the move to transfer the 99-year lease of the site violated open meeting laws and directed Sands to be included in the lawsuit.
The decision was a partial win for Nassau County officials, who had asked the Appellate Division to dismiss Hofstra’s lawsuit. Hofstra challenged the lease agreement in April 2023 on allegations that county officials largely worked behind closed doors to reach the deal with Sands.
“Contrary to the respondents’ contention, dismissal of this matter is not the appropriate remedy,” the court wrote. “It is premature to consider the merits of the parties’ contentions. We therefore reverse the order.”