Resorts World New York City, which recently opened the city’s first full-scale casino in April, is engaged in a dispute with state regulators over payments to support New York’s horse-racing industry. The disagreement centers on whether the required racing support payments, valued at more than $150 million annually, are included in the casino’s existing 56% slot machine tax rate or must be paid in addition.

Stakes and Timing

Since Resorts World is currently the only downstate casino operating, it would be responsible for the full payment until Metropolitan Park in Queens and Bally’s in the Bronx begin operations, which is not expected until 2030. This arrangement could cost the casino more than $500 million over the next four years. The payments are intended to support the New York Racing Association, which manages the state’s three largest racetracks.

The casino has proposed legislation to clarify the payment mechanism. Under the draft bill, the New York State Gaming Commission would distribute the racing support payments directly from the Commercial Gaming Revenue Fund, which receives the taxes collected from Resorts World. This fund primarily finances education and public transit, and the company asserts that the measure would not reduce its financial obligations.

Resorts World’s Position

Spokesperson Stefan Friedman emphasized that the proposal is a technical adjustment to clarify the payment process. He noted that Resorts World has a “15-year record of sending more than $4.5 billion to the state in education funds, more than $2.5 billion to horseracing interests and now $500 million and growing to the MTA.” Friedman added that the casino will “strictly abid[e] by the payments we agreed to in our winning bid for a commercial license.”

Weekly payments have already been made directly to the Racing Association, deducted from the casino’s tax rate. Resorts World argues that when it submitted its license bid, its 56% tax rate was intended to include racing support. The company contends that this agreement should remain in effect.

The New York Gaming Commission, controlled by Governor Kathy Hochul, has not publicly endorsed Resorts World’s payment plan. According to New York Focus, Joseph Addabbo, a Queens state senator who chairs the Senate Committee on Racing, Gaming, and Wagering, acknowledged the issue, calling it “a matter of interpretation” regarding the meaning of the 56% tax rate. Resorts World initially sought to include the proposal in the state budget, but it was not accepted. With the legislative session ending June 10, the casino is now advocating for the measure to be passed as a standalone bill.

Context and Background

Racing support payments were first introduced in 2001 when video lottery terminals were legalized. Operators were required to contribute a portion of their revenues to sustain the horse-racing industry. When downstate casinos were authorized in 2023, lawmakers maintained the requirement to prevent a sudden loss of funding.

Resorts World, owned by Malaysian conglomerate Genting, was awarded one of three downstate licenses in December 2023. Because it already operated a video gambling facility at the Aqueduct Racetrack, it was able to open a full-scale casino quickly, while Metropolitan Park and Bally’s must build their facilities from the ground up. During last year’s license competition, Resorts World bid a 56% annual tax on slots, considerably higher than the 30% and 25% rates proposed by Bally’s and Metropolitan Park, respectively.

Since opening, Resorts World has already celebrated its first seven-figure jackpot, when a New York City resident won $1,009,357.41 on the Aristocrat Million Dollar Dragon Link progressive slot machine in mid-May. Genting Americas East President Robert DeSalvio described the win as “a monumental moment not only for one incredibly lucky New Yorker, but for Resorts World New York City and the entire state.”