Casino Border Wars

The licensing of three casinos in downstate New York will reshape gaming in the region, test urban mega-resorts, and decide the future of online gambling.

New York’s three downstate casino licenses, poised to reshape the gaming industry, will impact far more than the state’s brick-and-mortar casinos in three key ways.

First, they’ll test whether mega-resorts in major cities can thrive, as thus far, Wynn’s Boston and Bally’s Chicago projects haven’t exactly set the world on fire. The success (or lack thereof) of New York City casinos will likely determine whether casino giants continue to chase multi-billion-dollar urban projects in Texas and beyond, or stick with smaller regional models.

Second, the new casinos will intensify competition with Atlantic City, threatening New Jersey’s gambling dominance and accelerate its decline as a gaming hub. Located just across the Hudson, these downstate mega-resorts, especially in Queens or Manhattan, could siphon off tourists and locals who currently flock to Atlantic City’s boardwalk. Meanwhile, New Jersey’s push for Northern Jersey casinos at Meadowlands and Monmouth Park aims to counter this threat, but voter approval in 2026 is uncertain and it might be too little, too late.

Finally, the licensing process has stalled online casino legalization debates in New York, underlining a growing uneasiness among land-based operators toward digital gambling. With regulatory and political focus locked on the complex casino bids, efforts to legalize online casinos have been sidelined. This delay risks New York lagging behind states like New Jersey and Pennsylvania, where online casinos thrive, and could shape whether operators embrace or resist digital innovation nationwide.

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The situation in New York won’t disappear overnight, as it is likely to persist post-award due to:

1. The construction process for physical casinos will delay further expansions, as significant resources, regulatory focus, and political capital will be tied up in developing these large-scale projects.

2. Varying appetites of license winners for digital gambling expansion, as license holders with established land-based operations may prioritize protecting their physical investments over pushing for online gambling legislation — STTP’s updated rankings below include potential online impact.

Updated New York Casino License Rankings

There are eight active proposals, and just three licenses are up for grabs. Three proposals have been withdrawn, including Las Vegas Sands and Wynn, who have cited online gambling and persistent opposition as the reasons they pulled their bids.

But, as Contessa Brewer noted, “Privately, casino executives from more than half a dozen companies have complained that the process of winning a casino license in New York state has little to do with the merits of the proposals, but instead is highly politicized and expensive — and keeps getting delayed.”

Meanwhile, Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano is calling for the state to hand the two frontrunners, Empire City and Resorts World, their licenses immediately. Spano called Empire City (located in Yonkers) “shovel-ready,” saying in a statement, “We have two racinos whose owners are ready to pay the State a billion dollars in application fees today, and to start generating hundreds of millions of dollars in new taxes tomorrow.”

Given the slow, deliberate process thus far, the awarding of licenses early is unlikely, although the two existing racinos remain heavy favorites.

Here’s the latest on each of the proposals and STTP’s rankings.