New York City Braces for New Casinos as Gambling Grows

by Kevin Lentz, 16 December 2025

New York City has moved to the final stage of a contentious casino licensing process, recommending three major projects just as the US gambling market continues to post record growth.

New York is preparing to license three casinos in the city. © FrankyFromGermany, Pixabay

Key Facts:

• US gambling revenue reached a record $72 billion in 2024.
• New York regulators recommended three downstate casino licenses, two in Queens, one in the Bronx.
• Final approval from the New York State Gaming Commission is expected later this month.
• Public health experts warn that expanded access may increase addiction and financial harm.

A hard-fought battle to bring Las Vegas-style casinos to New York City now appears to have its end in sight. On December 1st, the New York Location Facility Board recommended three projects for licensing.

These included Steve Cohen’s $8 billion project with Hard Rock near Citi Field in Queens, Bally’s $4 billion proposed resort near Ferry Point Park in the Bronx, and a $5 billion addition to the Resorts World property at the Aqueduct Racetrack, also in Queens.

This is the penultimate step before final licensing which is expected to be completed by mid-December. However, the final formal approval rests with the New York Gaming Commission. While widely expected to follow the Board’s recommendation, this highly anticipated spectacle might still offer some additional drama.

All of this comes at time of record revenue and continuing growth for every segment of the US commercial gaming industry. And while online gaming continues to show double digit growth, as well as sports betting, land-based casinos have not chosen to just give up and die.

They still showed a low single digit increase last year, and account for nearly $50 billion in revenue. But the rapid expansion of sports betting across more than three dozen states over the last several years as well as revenue growth of 25% for 2024, has heightened concerns around problem gambling.

That has turned a harsh light on the future New York licensees as the five borough communities weigh thousands of new jobs and eye-watering tax revenue against the potential for gambling harm and addiction in their neighborhoods.

Critics raise concerns that all of those promises made to secure community support for licensing may prove ephemeral, leaving long-term social costs.

Retention vs Expansion

Proponents of New York casinos have an easy counter. New Yorkers already gamble extensively. Once New York passed online sports betting, the state saw total wagers of almost $24 billion in the last fiscal year. The vast majority of that was money that had previously been bet across the state lines in New Jersey, Pennsylvania or Connecticut.

From that perspective, new casinos in the outer boroughs are unlikely to spur some huge wave of new interest in gambling. Instead, they will funnel both gambling, as well as restaurant and other retail spending that currently leaves the New York City area, into local casinos and their associated amenities.

In that sense, these new casinos may lead to a broader infrastructure investment, new jobs closer to home, and a more stable tax base. But there will still be social costs, some small percentage of people who struggle with addiction, and money spent at the casino that was previously spent in small mom-and-pop restaurants and businesses.

That number must be balanced against the $1.5 billion alone in licensing fees and billions more in promised tax revenue over the next decade, as well as thousands of good-paying jobs and huge investments in entertainment facilities that will draw locals and tourists alike.

Regulating a Shifting Market

The final steps in the New York licensing process also come at a time when both regulators and legislators grapple with gambling that is increasingly everywhere, legal in almost every jurisdiction and nearing oversaturation.

What is the proper balance for consumer demand, economic opportunity, and public health? How much gambling is too much?

And as online slots and table game gambling are legal in three adjacent states, how should Albany legislate in a way that brings in much-needed revenue and allows online innovation, but in a way that doesn’t harm the hoped-for golden goose of land-based gaming in the country’s premier market?

Do nothing, and you allow the grey market, unregulated and untaxed offshore operators, the opportunity to win customers. At the same time, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Connecticut continue to serve those who prefer to play online.

Kick the door wide open for online operators, and your new casinos will struggle to compete, especially with some of the highest land-based slot taxes in the country. Finding balance and bridging many competing interests promise to keep the New York Gaming Commission busy long after they finalize licenses in a few weeks.

Conclusion

New York feels like it is crossing the finish line, but sadly, many more miles of rough road lie ahead. Not only must they balance jobs and taxes with social harm, and the dangers of addiction, but soon they will need to weigh the future of gambling and its many competing interests.

Inaction is likely to prove the one decision that neither the city nor the state can afford to make, as at least two of these new casinos are unlikely to open for something like five years. That’s a long time to wait on jobs and tax revenue, while the lure of online casino gambling is that it can be up and running in months.

It remains to be seen how the New York market will play out long term, but the same tens of millions of potential customers within just a two-hour drive of Manhattan that kicked off this mad rush won’t be overlooked for five years while Hard Rock and Bally’s build out their Las Vegas East empires.