It’s easy to find the main culprit for this mess: The casino locations were dictated by politics, not common sense. Collectively, the four casinos paid 36.4%, or $108 million, less than expected in taxes. Resorts World Catskills, the only New York casino that makes public its financial results, was losing up to $10 million every month, even before the pandemic, and had to be bailed out by its owner. The casinos would have needed a nearly 50% jump in revenue to meet their 2019 estimate.

Instead, they tallied only $610.5 million. Resorts World Catskills and the three other upstate casinos that began opening in December 2016 expected to produce $903.5 million in gross gaming revenue during 2019. While politics is inevitably a factor in regulated industries, insiders agree that New York stands out for hindering the success of its casinos. And while boosting local economies is the argument that advocates always make for legalizing casino gambling, the rules in New York do their best to blunt the industry’s economic impact. Welcome to the gaming industry in New York, where market forces run a distant second to politics, limiting the payoff to both casino companies and state coffers. And a different machine at that New York City venue pays yet another tax rate, 60%, because it’s assigned to neighboring Nassau County’s off-track betting corporation. But the one in the Catskills hands over 37% of its revenue in taxes while the one in the city pays 66%. A slot machine at Resorts World Catskills in upstate New York and a slot machine at Resorts World New York City appear identical to players.

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