The process for awarding three new downstate New York casino licenses may take significantly longer than initially expected. Previously, industry insiders and experts speculated that the bidding process for the licenses may open at some point this month. With the month passing and a range of processes left outstanding, it now looks less likely for the bidding to be launched during the first quarter of this year.

In fact, according to a new report, this lengthy process may be extended even by a year. A recently released report by Newsday, citing the opinions of industry insiders, suggests that the awarding of the downstate licenses may even happen at some point during the first quarter of 2025. This otherwise means that the process may take significantly longer than initially expected.

What’s expected now is for the Gaming Facility Location Board to release the answers to questions submitted by interested casino bidders. The first round of such questions was released back in August, while submissions for the second round, to which responses are yet to be released, started back in October. Once the Board releases the responses, a 30-day window applicable for bidders would open for casino operators.

Besides this process, casino license applicants must also clear outstanding issues related to zoning. Late last year, New York Mayor Eric Adams introduced a new proposal that sought to ease this process. This ambitious plan that sought to expedite the casino approvals faced opposition from Community Boards last month.

New Casino License Fees Missing from FY 2025 Budget

The potential delay, suggested by industry insiders, doesn’t come as a surprise, especially considering that the license fees from the three casinos did not make it into the fiscal 2024-2025 budget. The FY 2025 Budget sets a plan for the revenue through March 31, 2025.

In other words, New York may miss out on significant proceeds unless the three casino licenses are awarded. Early estimates predicted a license fee of $500 million per license or some $1.5 billion in extra proceeds for the state if the licensing is expedited.

The FY 2025 Budget, released by Gov. Kathy Hochul earlier this month, brought bad news for online casinos as well. Despite efforts toward the legalization of iGaming activities, the $233 billion budget did not include texts regarding the activity. According to lawmakers, this action may doom the legalization of the activity, at least for this year.

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Considering the expansion of legal sports betting that is already available in more than 30 US states, concerns about the integrity of sports competitions continue to grow. Earlier this year, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) announced a number of suspensions over alleged gambling violations.

Then, earlier this month, the NCAA confirmed its plans to revise the penalties for athletes suspended due to sports wagering. The proposed changes to the guidelines sought to change the penalties for athletes who have placed bets on sports but did not wager on their team. While earlier this month, the NCAA Committee on Student-Athlete Reinstatement confirmed the new guidelines, now, the policies face a delay, as announced by The Des Moines Register.

On Wednesday, the NCAA Division I Council Coordination Committee confirmed that the voting on the changes to the reinstatement guidelines will be delayed for two weeks. According to the Committee’s chair, Jon Steinbrecher, this decision came after the Conference Commissioners Association Executive Committee asked for more time. He said that the two-week delay would be used for collecting membership feedback for the planned changes. Finally, Steinbrecher pointed out: “The coordination committee reemphasized the need for the Association to move deliberately and have in-depth conversations about the current wagering landscape.”

“The council agreed with commissioners earlier this month that the penalties for wagering violations in limited circumstances should be adjusted and the respective committees moved quickly to recommend possible changes. However, the Conference Commissioners Association Executive Committee, today, requested a brief delay to allow more time for membership feedback on the proposed adjustment, and the coordination committee voted to honor that request.“

Jon Steinbrecher, chair of the NCAA Division I Council Coordination Committee

Proposed Changes May Ease Penalties for First-Time Offenders

Recently, the NCAA showed support for changes to betting legislation across the country. At the time, the Association confirmed that it plans to collaborate with lawmakers, ensuring the integrity of its competitions and raising awareness of problem gambling.

Additionally, the NCAA said that it plans to protect students from harassment and coercion. In the recently proposed changes to the reinstatement guidelines, the Association explores the option to reinstate penalized athletes if it’s their first offense. Such athletes would have the option to compete but must undergo education. Still, it’s important to mention that this rule would apply only to athletes who have placed sports bets but not on their team.

Back in August, Noah Shannon, the defensive tackle for Iowa Hawkeyes was suspended for a season. After a month, his appeal was denied. While there is a chance for Shannon to return, it is still uncertain if and when he may return, considering the planned changes to the reinstatement guidelines.

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The hearing between Andy Sanborn, the owner of the Concord Casino and former New Hampshire Senator, and the Lottery Commission was delayed for the second time recently. The latest delay comes after Sanborn’s defense claimed that he was too ill to effectively defend against the accusations that he spent COVID-19 relief funds for personal expenses.

As announced by The Concord Monitor, Sanborn’s lawyer, Zachary Hafer, recently confirmed that his client was very sick. “We’re also dealing with lots of medical appointments and side effects from medical appointments. I’d rather not get into the specific details, but he’s very sick, very, very sick,” he explained.

Additionally, Hafer pointed out that he was new to his client’s case and needed more time to familiarize himself with the details. He cited extensive information and documents that are tied to the investigation against his client, asking for a postponement of two months.

“We are asking for two months, which is about a quarter of the time that the investigation took. We think that’s really reasonable here. We think that it would afford a process in which we can defend these charges.“

Zachary Hafer, an attorney representing Andy Sanborn

The latest delay marks the second time the hearing between Sanborn and the Commission has been pushed back. The investigation against the former Senator comes ahead of his gaming operator license expiration set for December 31, 2023. According to the investigation against him, he was unsuitable to hold a license in New Hampshire. Even if Sanborn is found unsuitable to hold a license in the state after the hearing with the Commission, he may appeal that decision with the Supreme Court.

Using COVID Relief Funds for Personal Expenses

An eight-month-long investigation against the former Senator uncovered that he allegedly obtained $844,000 in federal COVID-19 relief funds fraudulently. Accusations against him claim that the money was used for a lavish lifestyle, including purchasing expensive sports cars for himself and Laurie Sanborn, his wife. He allegedly concealed personal expenses as business transactions, transferring some $183,500 into his personal accounts.

The established regulations do not allow casinos to benefit from COVID relief funds. Yet, the investigation claims that Sanborn concealed the identity of his company and instead of Concord Casino, filed the application with the name Win Win Win LLC. According to the investigation, the activity of his business was described as miscellaneous.

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The Catawba Nation is currently working on a new casino property in Kings Mountain, North Carolina. The property, called Catawba Two Kings Casino, was set to begin construction in 2022. However, various setbacks have pushed that date back.

Around 35 miles west of Charlotte, the tribal nation’s latest property is set to overlook Interstate 85. The casino will sport some 3,000 slots, as many as 120 gaming tables and a 400-room hotel, allowing it to welcome hundreds of guests.

Unfortunately, the construction will experience some setbacks because of a dispute between the nation and the developer. This has caused concerns among local businesses which rely on the casino project to channel customers toward the region.

Restaurant and shop owners believe that the locale is too remote and say that it rarely attracts tourists. Businesses hope that the Catawba Two Kings Casino will change that trend, bringing in many new customers.

Because of that, the delay of the construction is a serious cause for concern among business owners.

The Temporary Casino Is Already Generating Traffic

The construction of the Catawba Two Kings Casino was supposed to begin in 2022. As mentioned, the project kept on getting delayed, to local businesses’ dismay.

Luckily, a temporary casino is already running and proving to have a beneficial effect on the local economy. While three times smaller than its permanent counterpart, the temporary casino boasts some 1,000 slots and multiple electronic table games.

Statistics show that the temporary venue has already increased the visitation rates by 25-30%. A further boost of 30% is expected once the casino plans have been completed.

In any case, the dispute between the Catawba Nation and the casino developer will further slow down the project. Originally expected to be completed by 2024-2025, the casino project is now in limbo, its future uncertain.

Experts believe that the Catawba Two Kings Casino should be complete by 2026-2027 or later. In the meantime, the Catawaba Nation is working on solutions to get the project going.

In the meantime, North Carolina prepares for the launch of mobile sports betting sometime in 2024. As the state braces for the launch of the vertical, lawmakers have also proposed an expansion of the state’s casino industry. However, this measure has yet to gain traction.

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Two massive integrated casino resorts in Singapore will not meet their previously agreed to target dates for expanding – affecting not only their mid-term growth strategies but potentially government revenues.

In 2019, the Republic of Singapore in maritime Southeast Asia reached agreements with both Resorts World Sentosa and Marina Bay Sands regarding expansions of the casino resorts. The investments were reportedly worth a total of about $6.77 billion (about SG$9 billion).

According to a report on Japan’s Nikkei Asia, Marina Bay Sands owner Las Vegas Sands stated in March 2023 that it would be pushing its target date back – the second time it had made such an announcement and it followed one made the year before.

Hotel Towers and Arena to be Completed in 2028

The new outline sees the construction of a planned 1,000-suite hotel tower and a 15,000-seat multipurpose arena commence in April of next year and be completed in April 2028.

Resorts World Sentosa (RWS), located on Singapore’s resort island of Sentosa began construction of a new attraction at Universal Studios Singapore, located on the resort property there, and renovations on the site’s aquarium. No activity has been reported on a new hotel at the resort that was previously announced as part of the planned expansion.

The expansion at RWS was originally planned to be completed either next year or in 2025 but in 2020 the resort’s parent company, Genting Singapore said that the Covid crisis would delay the project’s completion for an undetermined amount of time. No specific date for completion has been announced, but Nekeii media reports that an Asian analyst has mentioned that 2027 or 2028 are most likely.

Nearly all construction was sidelined in Singapore due to the coronavirus outbreak through nearly all of 2020 and most of 2021. Impacts included not only a shortage of migrants to accomplish the work but also supply chain disruptions that made it difficult to procure construction materials.

Chinese Tourism Expected to Rebound

According to analysts with Malayan Banking Berhad, by the end of 2023, the number of Chinese tourists visiting the region, and specifically the integrated resorts of Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa is expected to return to pre-pandemic levels. However, the delay in growth plans does present some risk of dissuading visitors from coming.

Global inflation also has the potential to add costs to the projects. While Genting Singapore posted net profits in 2022 of some 86% over those of 2021, last year’s profits of SG$340 million (US$255m) were still only about half of what they were in 2019. However, since China has relaxed Covid-related travel restrictions recently those numbers are expected to eventually rebound.

Another Chinese tourist destination with casinos has seen marked growth and steadily increasing revenues since China’s “Zero-Covid” policy was jettisoned after civil unrest on the mainland and the recommendation of health authorities there to bring mitigation measures more in line with those in the rest of the world.

Source: Singapore’s casino resort expansions mired in delays, Nikkei Asia, April 9, 2023

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