Three casinos are expected to get licenses in upstate New York today
Analysts say the casino expansion won’t create a big revenue jackpot for the state, as the market is too crowded, but it would still be helpful.
US.- State regulators are expected to license three casinos in the Catskills, Schenectady and the Finger Lakes today and to license a fourth casino in the Southern Tier later on, as it was approved in a second round of bidding. It follows a trend of the state officials finding new ways of benefiting from gambling, like approving video lottery machines at horse-tracks and expanding multi-state lotteries after Lotto sales drops. There already are a dozen horse-track and Indian casinos in the region.
Bennett Liebman a government lawyer-in-residence at Albany Law School and gambling policy expert expressed, “limited growth, that’s the way it’s been nationally for the last five years and New York doesn’t seem to be that much different than other states. There is no reason to think it’s going to be any different, even with additional casinos.”
Last year, the gambling revenue the states got for education, which comes from traditional lottery drawing, horse-tracks, instant games and video lottery terminals was over US$ 3 billion. “Racinos” in general and Resorts World Casino New York City in particular, have underpinned the lottery revenue. Resorts Casino features 5,000 electronic slots and table games and it is responsible for 40 percent of the racinos revenue in NY.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration has negotiated with the Indian tribes that run five casinos in NY to begin paying a share of their casino slot revenue. The deals made with the Oneidas, Senecas and Mohaks added up to US$ 161 million to the state and local coffers last year. Cuomo’s administration estimated an annual revenue of over US$ 300 million from new casinos.
