New York To Get 7 New Casinos

In an attempt to revive its stagnant economy, Governor Andrew Cuomo has agreed to give the green light for a plan to build seven new casinos in New York, with a vote on the proposal expected to be taken in November. Any future agreement would subsequently mark a departure from the present situation in which ‘the Empire State’ just allows table gambling on Native American land, and slot machine gambling at horse racing tracks.
New York state currently has 9 racetrack casinos which employ around 5,000 people and generated $1.8 billion in revenue for 2012, translating to $823 million in taxes for the state. It is hoped that the addition of 7 new non-tribal casinos will not only help to alleviate New York’s 7.8% unemployment rate, but will also provide competition to its nearby rivals in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Connecticut.
If all goes accordingly, four of the casinos will be located in the upstate area of New York, while several years later three more gambling venues will be built in the downstate region. Commenting on the latest developments, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said:
“Today’s agreement with the legislature would establish world-class destination gaming resorts to attract tourists to upstate New York. This legislation is a major step forward in our efforts to both capitalize on this economic development and tourism potential and end the trend of letting neighboring states with legalized gaming take revenue that should be going to our schools.”
Nevertheless, New York still faces opponents to the plan with detractors pointing out that not only is the casino market in New York currently experiencing a downturn, but that the nearby state of New Jersey has  experienced a slumping gambling industry for several years, mostly due to increased competition from neighboring Pennsylvania. This has caused opponents of the plan to wonder if there are actually enough gamblers to go around.