More than half of New Yorkers favor casino gambling

The support is consistent across the state: 56 percent in New York City, 58 percent in the city's suburbs, and 54 percent upstate said they'd like to see the state's gaming industry expand. New York currently has a handful of full-fledged casinos, complete with table games, in upstate New York, all run by American Indian tribes.

Governor Andrew Cuomo said earlier this week his administration is developing a position on the legalization of casino gaming and would likely reveal it in January. "It is an issue that we are looking at. We are studying it closely. It is a complex matter," Cuomo said. "It has numerous ramifications on a number of levels, and we are working through it. We have no firm position and no firm plans on it."

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos told the New York Post earlier this week they would back a constitutional amendment allowing casinos, which would have to be passed by consecutive Legislatures as well as a public referendum.

“Senator Skelos is supportive of a constitutional amendment that would allow the people to decide if we should expand casino gambling in New York,” Senate Republican spokesman Scott Reif said in a statement. “While it has the potential to create jobs and grow the economy, New Yorkers should ultimately make the final call.”

Meanwhile, 64 percent of New York voters said they believe casinos would be good for the economy, while 63 percent said they would lead to an increase in gambling addiction, the poll found.

Quinnipiac also took another look at the controversial issue of hydraulic fracturing, finding what several polls have confirmed: New Yorkers are split on the technique used with natural gas drilling.

According to the survey, 45 percent of state voters value the economic benefits of natural-gas drilling over the environmental impact, with 41 percent saying the opposite. High-volume hydrofracking is on hold in New York as the state Department of Environmental Conservation completes its review of the technique, which is expected to wrap up at some point next year.

The Quinnipiac poll surveyed 1,016 voters between September 13 and 18, holding a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.