NYS Gaming Commission Exec Highlights Economic Benefits Key to Downtown New York Casino Licenses

It's the biggest market in the country for our best sports betting sites, but while you can visit casinos upstate, downtown New York City offers no such option. Yet.

The New York State Commission will award up to three casino licenses for projects in downtown New York in 2025, and executive director Robert Williams has been speaking to the about the critical factors in a successful application.

Williams outlined the most significant factors the Commission will consider when processing applications, which must be submitted by June 2025. These include the quality and number of jobs the project provides, revenues expected to reach the state, and the value of the capital investment. 

While economic factors are the primary consideration, Williams also stressed that the Commission will consider other areas like the site’s architecture and design. Additionally, the Commission will look at “the relationships that they have with local communities, with unions, how the different projects integrate into something as simple as traffic and sewer and water, and fire and police protection.” 

Proposals for downtown casinos

There have been 11 proposals submitted for downtown casinos in New York, with Williams saying, “The infrastructure development that's associated with several of these, we're talking in multiples of billions of dollars.” He also highlighted many of these proposals' “simply breathtaking” scope. 

One of the most significant proposals is from Steve Cohen, who wants to develop the area around Citi Field, home of the New York Mets. Cohen owns the Mets. Cohen’s proposal looks at Metropolitan Park and could provide more than 23,000 union-backed jobs. 

But it's not shocking to see the operators of some of the biggest names in the New York sports betting scene to be behind the proposals.  

The most significant proposal for job creation, Wynn Resorts, is looking to create Wynn New York City in Hudson Yards through 35,000 union-backed jobs. 

Other leading US gaming companies that have proposed casinos in New York include Caesars Entertainment, which has submitted a joint proposal with SL Green Realty, and Roc-Nation, owned by Jay-Z. This proposal for 1515 Broadway could generate up to $100 million in additional Broadway ticket sales.

MGM Resorts has also proposed redeveloping its racino, MGM Empire, in Yonkers. The racino currently supports VLTs and horse racing betting. The proposal suggests adding a 5,000-seat concert space and a casino.

Casino proposal timeline

All casino proposals must be submitted by June 27. Once this deadline passes, the bids will be reviewed by a community advisory committee, with Governor Kathy Hochul appointing members. State legislators and local officials will also have a chance to review the proposals. 

The advisory committees have until September 30 to advance the proposals, which require a two-thirds majority. The proposals that pass this stage will go to the Gaming Facility Location Board, which is overseen by Vick L. Been, a Judge Edward Weinfield professor of Law at NYU’s School of Law. 

The Gaming Facility Location Board will put forward up to three applications for licensing by the New York State Gaming Commission by December 1, 2025. 

New York may get online casinos

New land-based casinos may not be the only new way to play casino games in NY in 2025. Gov. Hochul was considering adding a special legislative session in New York in 2024 to consider legalizing real-money online casinos. While this didn’t happen, it shows there’s clearly an appetite to bring this type of gaming to NY. Lawmakers may get another chance to pass online casino legislation in 2025.