NYC Mayoral Favorite Zohran Mamdani Won’t Stand In Casinos’ Way
The socialist lawmaker from Queens, Zohran Mamdani, who is the front-runner to be the next mayor of New York City, says he will not prevent casinos from opening in the downstate area.
Three casino proposals are likely to be chosen by the New York Gaming Facility Location Board by the end of the year to receive the coveted gaming concessions, which include access to live-dealer table games, sports betting, and slot machines. There are still eight bids: three in Manhattan, one in the Bronx, one in Brooklyn, two in Queens, and one in Westchester County.
"I’ve been open about my personal skepticism, and yet I also know this is the law,” Mamdani said this week about the forthcoming casinos. “The siting and the choices of which casinos will open, that pertains to the state.”
Mamdani was not involved in the state's 2013 liberalization of commercial casinos because he only took office in January 2021. Seven casino locations were approved by the gaming expansion, and the four upstate casinos were given a 10-year operating window prior to the downstate casinos receiving licenses.
Mayor's Authority Restricted
It is almost a certain that Mamdani will succeed Mayor Eric Adams. The majority of polls and online betting platforms that let users place bets among themselves about the outcome of the NYC mayoral election on November 2 support that.
According to the Real Clear Politics polling average, Mamdani is 15 points ahead of his closest rival, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. Only 11% of the potential electorate is supporting Adams.
Mamdani has an 83% chance of winning the position of New York City's next mayor, according to bettors on the prediction market Kalshi. Mamdani has an implied 84% chance of winning on PredictIt, a comparable betting platform.
Although Mamdani is predicted to be elected mayor of New York City, he won't have much power to prevent casinos from opening in the area. The votes will take place prior to Mamdani taking office, even though a representative of the mayor's office sits on seven of the eight Community Advisory Committees (CAC) and will cast one of the six votes among each to decide whether the proposal proceeds.
Only casino applications that have been accepted by a two-thirds majority of their respective CACs will be taken into consideration by the Gaming Facility Location Board. The deadline for each CAC to vote on its own project is September 30, 2025. If elected, Mamdani would take office on January 1, 2026.
Cuomo had a part in casinos
Mamdani is largely opposed to casinos, stating that "gambling is haram," which is Arabic for "forbidden." Adams is a vocal advocate for opening casinos in New York City. While serving as governor, Cuomo advocated for casinos and urged state voters to accept a constitutional change that would have let the State Assembly to authorize gambling more than ten years ago.
There are many opponents to casinos in Manhattan and the other four boroughs, as evidenced by the first public meetings of the CAC. They may accuse Cuomo of pressuring them to think about building resorts akin to Las Vegas in their localities. Cuomo's prospects of pulling off an upset in November would be diminished by that.
