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NY state casino license decision likely delayed to 2025
According to Robert Williams, executive director of the New York State Gaming Commission, the decision on whether to give up to three commercial casino licenses in downstate New York would most likely be made in late 2025.
During a public meeting, Mr. Williams noted that regulatory hurdles like as zoning and environmental assessments would need to be overcome before a decision could be made, perhaps delaying the process until mid-2025.
In January 2023, the state gaming commission issued a request for applications (RFA) for three downstate New York casino licenses. The request for proposals (RFA) stipulated a one billion dollar minimum capital investment and licensing charge, with a license price of five hundred million dollars, payable in thirty days.
The duration of the applicable casino permits may vary from ten to thirty years, based upon the amount of money pledged.
Major Asian gaming operators, such as Malaysia’s Genting group, MGM Resorts International, which owns Macau operator MGM China Holdings Ltd., Wynn Resorts Ltd., parent company of Wynn Macau Ltd., Las Vegas Sands Corp., which operates in Macau and Singapore, and Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment, which in November opened a tourism complex featuring a foreigner-only casino in Incheon, South Korea, have all expressed interest in submitting proposals for a New York downstate license.
According to Mr. Williams, if a bidder for a downstate license in New York had obtained their license through the state procedure, they would be seen as complying with regional regulations. Furthermore, he mentioned that the processes had officially started on the twenty-seventh of November of last year. He stated that he has been informed informally that he will need to navigate the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure procedure in New York City until the second quarter of 2025.
Mr. Williams stated that in addition to zoning and community standards, a third requirement—the environmental assessment process—would also necessitate a longer waiting period.
It is doubtful that the zoning and environmental assessment procedures would be completed before the first quarter of 2025, he said, meaning that a commission license will not be considered until the end of the year 2025. According to Mr. Williams, the Gaming Facility Location Board, which is in charge of choosing up to three more casino applications for the commission’s review, is probably going to get together in the upcoming weeks to formally discuss the schedule.
He continued by saying that the staff of the commission feels that the schedule would provide for the best and most thorough plans for the construction of commercial casinos by accommodating the current legislative requirements for environmental evaluations and providing enough time for local zoning permits.
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