The Las Vegas Sands has announced it will no longer be vying for one of New York’s three downstate casino licenses, but it will try to get a third party to take its place as owner and operator of a gambling operation at the Nassau Coliseum on Long Island.
Thanks, But No Thanks
As far back as October, it became clear that the Las Vegas Sands was having second thoughts about building a $6 billion resort and casino where the Nassau Coliseum now stands. During a third-quarter earnings call, CEO Robert Goldstein revealed he had concerns about iGaming coming to the Empire State and cannibalizing some of the land-based casino revenue.
“I’ve always been the biggest advocate for New York and other jurisdictions,” he said at the time. “The only concern I have these days is the ongoing strength of online gambling. We can’t ignore what’s happening in New Jersey, in Pennsylvania, and in Michigan.”
Therefore, it wasn’t a total shock when Goldstein recently announced his company would be pulling out of the downstate casino sweepstakes, reiterating what he had stated earlier. “As we have previously stated, the company remains concerned about the impact of potential legalization of iGaming on the overall market opportunity and project,” said Goldstein.
The company released a statement insisting that the Nassau Coliseum is the right property for a casino license as long as someone else is running it. “We strongly believe in the development opportunity for a land-based downstate casino license in New York,” the Sands said in the statement. “We also continue to believe that the Nassau Coliseum site is the best location for that development opportunity and should be highly competitive in the New York casino licensing process.”
New York Lawmaker Pushing for iGaming
New York State Senator Joseph Addabbo Jr., the chairman of the New York Senate’s Racing, Gaming and Wagering Committee, championed mobile sports betting from the outset, and it is now a thriving industry generating billions of dollars for the Empire State.
Therefore, it is no surprise that Addabbo is back at it again, only this time advocating for the much more lucrative online casino gambling. But getting an iGaming bill passed will be much more difficult than digital sports betting, as evidenced by only seven states having launched the former while 38 states have some form of the latter.
Concerns about addictive gambling becoming an issue are largely responsible for the dearth of iGaming US markets. Lawmakers contend that giving people the ability to bet real money on digital slot machines or casino table games through their mobile device or PC is like having a 24-hour casino at their fingertips.
Those fears have not deterred Addabbo, but he does concede that the governor must be on board for any iGaming legislation to be successful. “It has to be the governor who drives the bus,” Addabbo said. “I’m not very hopeful this session because it can’t just be me. I need the governor to engage, and she doesn’t want to engage.”
“It’s a question of not if but when. Eventually, iGaming will happen in New York, and we can’t cry over the billions that we lost by not doing it in years past, but it’s a question of when. When will we realize that, hey, we need to do this?”
