Expansion of gambling in New York is approved

The approval is a milestone in the gambling industry’s long, expensive push to tap into the New York market, an effort that has spanned decades, cost tens of millions of dollars and is certain to continue as gambling companies vie for the right to develop the new casinos.

New York State already has five Indian-run casinos, all of them upstate, and nine slot machine parlors at racetracks. And the State Legislature, at the urging of Mr. Cuomo, has required that at first, only four new casinos will be permitted, and only upstate: in the Albany area, the Catskills-Hudson Valley region and part of the Southern Tier, a region along the northern border of Pennsylvania.

Cuomo, a Democrat, has said that casino development would create jobs, lure tourists and allow the state to recapture some of the gambling revenue now flowing to nearby states with casinos. “We literally hemorrhage people from the borders who go to casinos,” Cuomo told reporters after voting in Westchester County on Tuesday. “I think it will keep the money in this state, and I think it’s a major economic development vehicle for the Hudson Valley especially and for upstate New York.”

Voters who marked their ballots in support of the proposed amendment said the potential financial gain was too significant for the state to pass up, especially given the slumbering economy in parts of upstate. “We really need something to come in and revitalize this area,” Jackie Burris, a retired special education teacher who has a second home in the Catskills hamlet of Rock Hill, said after voting in Great Neck. “We need it desperately.”

New York’s debate over casinos was far more muted than in other places where casinos have been proposed, in part because Cuomo drafted the casino plan in a way that neutralized many likely opponents, like the Indian tribes that run the upstate casinos.

The casino amendment was promoted by a coalition called New York Jobs Now, which was primarily financed by gambling interests, including operators of the racetrack slot machine parlors, as well as labor unions that stood to benefit from the development of casinos. The coalition raised more than us$ 4 million for the effort, which included a series of television ads promoting the economic benefits of casino development and citing endorsements from newspaper editorial boards.

The supporters of the measure benefited from the wording on the ballot, which portrayed the proposal in a positive light, suggesting that it would lead to new jobs, increased school financing and property tax relief, and omitting any negative arguments. The wording, adopted by the State Board of Elections after consultation with Cuomo, drew criticism from government watchdog groups, but a lawsuit challenging it was unsuccessful.

A disparate collection of opponents tried to persuade voters to oppose the casino expansion, but their efforts were largely homespun. One group of opponents paid for a last-minute, less-than-polished television commercial quoting former Gov. Mario M. Cuomo denouncing casino gambling two decades ago, but opponents generally had little money to back up their efforts. 

The opponents argued that Andrew Cuomo and other supporters of the proposal were being overly optimistic about the economic benefits, citing the struggles of destinations like Atlantic City as casinos have proliferated on the East Coast.

The new casino licenses will be awarded by a panel to be appointed by the State Gaming Commission. Developers have expressed the most interest in the Catskills, where large resorts once prospered.

The publication North Jersey.com reports that four other U.S. states have reiterated their formal support for New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s efforts last week to gain a re-hearing for a sports betting lawsuit at the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia.

Christie’s request for a re-hearing before a full panel of judges has resonated with his supporters after the 3rd Appeal Court decided on a split 2-1 vote to uphold a lower court’s ruling that New Jersey may not implement a sports betting law that would effectively overturn the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA.)

PASPA restricts sports betting to just four US states – Nevada, Delaware, Montana and Oregon – and is seen by many as unconstitutional and anti-competitive.

State officials in Virginia, West Virginia, Kansas and Georgia – as they did before the prior ruling – offered their support on Monday for the philosophical stance taken by New Jersey while expressing no opinion on the merits of sports betting.

AGA president and CEO Geoff Freeman issued statement on passage of New York casino referendum. “We applaud the vote that will allow the expansion of gaming venues in New York. The gaming industry represents an engine of economic growth and a driver of innovation - it creates high-quality jobs and new businesses, leads technological advancements, increases opportunities for local suppliers, supports tourism and raises property values. It also generates critical tax revenues for local, state and federal governments that are then reinvested in America's communities.”

“New Yorkers have lived with commercial casinos for nearly a decade and have experienced the positive ways the gaming industry contributes to their well-being. And they are not alone - since 2010, voters in Iowa, Maine, Maryland and Rhode Island have voted in favor of expanded gaming options in their states as well. We look forward to working with New York casinos and their employees as they expand gaming offerings in the state.”