Two new members have been appointed to the New York Gaming Facility Location Board (NYGFLB). The decision to appoint Marion Phillips III and Greg Reimers was made on January 27 by the New York State Gaming Commission.

They will bring the number of members up to the mandated five. The new appointees will help make the final decision on up to three casino companies from 11 bidders that will be granted downstate land-based casino licences by December 2025.

Among those who have applied for the three licenses are Caesars, MGM, Wynn and Bally’s. The possible locations include current racetracks, Time Square and existing sports venues.

Marion Philipps III has previously worked as SVP for community relations at New York’s Empire State Development. Greg Reimers has been an executive vice president at the Bank of New York and a marketing manager and managing director with JPMorgan Chase.

The NYGC chair is Brian O’Dwyer and he sees the upcoming decision “will have a lasting impact on our state.” Of the new appointments, his view is that they both “have the expertise and experience to conduct thorough evaluations of the project.”

Licence bids are due to be in by June 27 and the new licensees must be named by December 1. 30 days after that is the deadline for those casinos selected to pay their licence fees.

Another concern the NYGC must deal with is unregulated gambling. No action has yet been taken against the rise in sweepstakes that has been seen in New York. The NYGC chair says that he has serious concerns that those running sweepstakes are breaking state law.

It’s not just the gambling companies that are being affected. The state is being denied gambling tax revenue so the NYGC and those in charge of the state coffers will be keen to put an end to the illegal sweepstakes.

The gambling industry in New York has seen massive growth in recent years. In 2018, a US Supreme Court Judge made a groundbreaking ruling. It led to individual states being able to make the final decision on whether or not to legalize gambling, particularly online sports betting.

Nearly 40 US states have now done so but it wasn’t until 2022 that online sports betting was launched in New York. There had been opposition to legalization by the Governor but then the financial problems caused by the pandemic saw a change in policy.

Since online sports betting became legal, New York has risen to the top of the table in terms of wagers made and revenue earned.  There are currently nine online sportsbook sites available in New York as per NYBet. The total handle in the state last year was $16.1 billion and that brought in close to $700 million in tax revenue. That high tax revenue figure was down to the US high 51% tax rate imposed by the state.

The state has continually been breaking records. By October of last year, the total handle had gone through the $20 billion mark with over $1 billion of tax revenue received. November 2024 saw a record monthly gross gaming revenue of $231.7 million, which was up 53.5% from the same period in the previous year.

It was 10% higher than 2024’s previous best of $211.5 million achieved in January. 2025 is expected to be another strong year, especially with all the wagers that are going to be placed on the Super Bowl and then basketball’s March Madness.

While the future is bright for online sports betting, New York is yet to make online casinos legal. Sen. Joe Addabbo (Democrat) has now introduced a bill that would make online casinos legal in the state.

He is the chairman of the New York Senate Committee on Racing, Gaming and Wagering. Back in 2022 and 2023, he introduced legislation but neither bill made it past the committee stage. Another attempt last year also met with failure.

His current bill is similar to the one he introduced in 2024. Only one gaming skin per license over a ten-year period would be allowed. It would allow sites to offer their customers the chance to play live dealer games. These would be set in a gaming studio situated in New York giving players an experience close to that they’d have at land-based venues.

If the bill was to be successful, then it is anticipated that the success of online sports betting would be repeated. There are concerns over gambling addiction, but the bill does include provisions for monies to be spent on responsible gambling initiatives. 2025 promises to be an interesting year for the New York gambling industry, both online and in the retail area.