State Senate and Assembly leaders in New York are using the waning days of the year’s legislative session to push for a speedup of the arduous process of accepting and approving applications for three downstate casino licenses.
Earlier this year, the New York State Gaming Commission indicated it would not be ready to accept licenses until early 2025, with license awards not expected until late next year. That would mean the first new ground-up casinos would not open until late in the decade.
Last week, state Senator Joseph Addabbo of Queens and Assemblyman Gary Pretlow of Mount Vernon—each chamber’s champion of casino expansion—submitted a bill that would require official casino bids to be submitted by July 31 of this year, with the three downstate licenses to be approved by March 31, 2025.
Currently, there are 11 proposals for casinos in and around New York City. That includes proposals spread across four of the city’s five boroughs and one in the suburb of Yonkers on the Hudson River.
