The casino industry is a multi-trillion dollar business and fiercely competitive. Gambling companies are always looking to expand their operations into new markets and strong measures are adopted when it comes to obtaining licenses and buying prime real estate for the construction of new casinos. The state of New York recently requested proposals for new brick & mortar casinos and received 16 applications. Three casinos were chosen by the Gaming Facility Location Board to apply for licenses.

Recent reports confirm that New York’s Attorney General’s office is looking into the selection process due to a possible conflict of interest. The successful bidders, Lago, Rivers, and Montreign reportedly had prior dealings with the firm of Taft, Stettinius and Hollister – which merged last year with Shefsky & Froelich – Shefsky & Froelich took on a $4.9 million contract as the lead gambling consultant for the Gaming Facility Location Board.

The New York Gaming Commission stated that they were not concerned with the investigation as the entire process was conducted very systematically. The commission released a statement which read “The process strictly followed the provisions of the Upstate New York Gaming Economic Development Act. The commission has had no inquiries with any oversight authority on the casino siting process.”

According to a report on Crain’s New York Business Insider, the Attorney General has already interviewed representatives of Traditions at the Glen of Johnson City and Tioga Downs of Nichols. It is likely the AG will set up meetings with representatives from all of the rejected casino bidders to gain feedback about the selection process and find out if anyone feels they have been unfairly treated.