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A bill to accelerate the licensing process for three new casino resorts in downstate New York appears unlikely to take effect by the end of August, frustrating its sponsor who wanted regulators to begin accepting license applications by the end of the month.
As approved by the New York Senate and Assembly in June, Senate Bill 9673A would require regulators to accept applications for the three licenses no later than August 31.
The legislation was sent to Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul shortly after passage but remains unsigned.
“Governor Hochul will review this legislation.” John Lindsay, the governor’s deputy communications director, told Vixio GamblingCompliance in an email on Wednesday (August 14).
Lindsay did not say when the review would be completed or if the governor would simply allow the bill’s August 31 deadline to expire. Hochul is up for re-election in 2026.
Democratic Senator Joseph Addabbo expressed his frustration with Hochul, saying it was not fair that the citizens of New York have to “wait so long for thousands of jobs, thousands of good union jobs”.
“It is such an infuriating process. There is no reason for it,” Addabbo told Vixio in an interview.
Addabbo’s amended bill also would have required the New York Gaming Facility Location Board to make its final licensing recommendations by December 31, 2025, with the possibility of no more than a 30-day delay, and the New York State Gaming Commission would be obliged to formally award the licenses within 30 days after that.
Addabbo and Assemblyman Gary Pretlow, a Democrat who introduced identical legislation in the Assembly, support accelerating the licensing process in an effort to generate at least $1.5bn in licensing fees. 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.
Addabbo stressed that the licensing fees could be directed to the New York City Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which is facing a $16.5bn shortfall caused by Hochul’s decision to halt a plan to fund a subway upgrade through congestion tolls imposed on Manhattan drivers.
Addabbo told Vixio that there was “no valid reason” why the state could not expedite the process. Currently, prospective casino bidders are in the second round of a question-and-answer process with the gaming commission.
Addabbo explained that state law requires that once gaming regulators return the second set of answers, it starts a 30-day time clock for bidders to submit their final applications.
The Gaming Facility Location Board has approved a new bid submission deadline for the three downstate casinos of June 27, 2025. Board members have been opposed to Addabbo’s August deadline, saying the delay is in line with the law that requires local approvals to move forward.
New York voters approved a constitutional amendment in 2013 that allowed the legislature to authorize up to seven casinos in the state.
The legislature opted to implement the plan in two phases, initially approving four Upstate New York casinos followed by a seven-year wait from the first upstate casino license before offering the three remaining licenses. That wait was set to expire in February 2023 but state lawmakers in 2022 passed a law to expedite the process with the hope that bidding would have started last year.
“Let’s move on,” Addabbo told Vixio. “I have applicants that are frustrated and so am I. This is not how New York does business.”
Addabbo also expressed frustration with the lack of incentive or desire on the part of state officials to expedite the matter.
Both MGM Resorts International, which operates Empire City in Yonkers, and Genting Group, which operates Resorts World New York in Queens, are among the frontrunners for two of the three licenses. If MGM and Genting are ultimately awarded two of the three licenses, that would leave Wynn Resorts, Las Vegas Sands and seven other likely bidders competing for one license.
Proposals have been publicly announced by Caesars Entertainment, Hard Rock International, Bally’s Corp. and Mohegan. Potential development sites in and around New York City include Times Square, Hudson Yards, Flushing Meadows and Long Island.
Some gaming companies have already expressed frustration with the slow-moving process but either stayed away from the topic or offered minimal comments on New York during recent conference calls to discuss second-quarter earnings.
Bill Hornbuckle, president and CEO of MGM, acknowledged there had “finally been some progress in New York at least by the end of 2025”.
“We all have to make our submissions and move that along,” Hornbuckle said. “I love our position in Yonkers and what we've been able to accomplish with the local community there. I think, and I know, we're in good standing as of this date. So, I look forward to that.”
Craig Billings, CEO of Wynn Resorts, described New York as an attractive gateway city, with the most potential of the development opportunities that the company has, along with Thailand.
Wynn has partnered with Related Companies to build a $12bn casino development project in Hudson Yards that also includes office space and a residential building.
“We won’t do … vanity projects if those vanity projects don’t deliver appropriate returns relative to everything else that we have on our plate,” Billings said.
Patrick Dumont, president and COO of Las Vegas Sands, told analysts the company had spent a lot of time in New York but he focused most of his commentary on development opportunities in Thailand. The company has received local approval for its $6bn project on New York’s Long Island.
