According to a recent news release by Governor Andrew Cuomo’s office, 22 counties, and municipalities throughout upstate New York will benefit from $30 million in casino license fees paid by the state’s newly licensed Las Vegas-style casinos.

The county payouts are courtesy of the 2013 Upstate New York Gaming and Economic Development Act that allowed the state to award up to four casino licenses for Las Vegas-style casinos to be built in three regions in upstate New York. Of the $151 million in commercial casino license fee distribution, 80 percent will go towards school aid and property tax relief throughout the state, while 10 percent will go to counties in the regions which were established by the 2013 law based on population, and host municipalities will split 10 percent.

The distribution will be as follows: the Catskills/Hudson Valley, the location of the Montreign Resort Casino, will receive $10.2 million; the Capital Region, the home of Rivers Casino & Resort at Mohawk Harbor, will receive $10 million; and the location of del Lago Resort & Casino in the Eastern Southern Tier/Finger Lakes Region will receive $10 million, according to the news release.

Cuomo said in the release, “This funding will help counties and local governments provide essential services to their residents as well as work to reduce their tax burden,” and, “These destination resorts will help drive more tourism and economic development dollars upstate and, with these payments, local governments are already seeing the benefits of these projects.”

Tioga County, the host county of Tioga Downs Casino Racing and Entertainment, will be eligible for 5 percent of del Lago’s $20 million license fee, and through the same formula, counties in Finger Lakes and the Southern Tier will be paid an additional $20 million distributed from Tioga Downs licensing fee.

Recently, Governor Cuomo announced that despite being under construction, the state’s new casinos have already begun to benefit their respective communicates. and that three upstate casinos have paid their licensing fees totaling $151 million.