Once relegated mostly to gaming revenues derived from lotteries, racinos, and racetracks, New York is diversifying its revenue base with tribal and at least three new Upstate casinos.
Governor Andrew Cuomo estimates local units in New York could take in about $300 million each year from three new casinos in Upstate New York and a fourth one under consideration in the Southern Tier. State gaming regulators already approved licenses for full casino operations in the Catskills, Schenectady, and the Finger Lakes.
Opponents say the money Cuomo predicts won’t actually materialize. Instead, they say the new casinos simply would siphon money and business away from the state’s racinos, race tracks, and tribal casinos, as well as from the state’s various lottery endeavors.
New York’s lottery games generated about $3 billion in revenues each of the last five years, which went toward education. The state in 2013 added another $161 million per year via revenue sharing agreements with the Oneida Nation, Senecas, and Mohawks, and supporters of the new casinos anticipate significantly more after they open for business over the next year.
But with up to four new casinos in New York plus casino expansion in neighboring states, many gaming analysts, like Bennett Liebman of Albany Law School, say the market is very mature, and local units generally shouldn’t expect more than modest increase in revenues from the new casinos.
Including New York, Moody’s Investors Services says there are some $5 billion in casino additions and expansions planned in the near future in the Northeastern United States, and that likely will limit the amount of gaming business for current and new operations.
New York, though, stands a good chance of boosting its gaming revenues via potential daily fantasy sports betting, which took in $55 million in bets in New York before Attorney General Eric Schneiderman declared FanDuel and DraftKings declared them to be illegal gambling operations, and a judge temporarily enjoined them from doing business in New York.
While daily fantasy sports currently is banned in New York, some state lawmakers support enacting laws to regulate it, ensure fairness for players, and generate further revenue from gaming.
