New York State Senator Joseph Addabbo’s proposed online casino bill has faced backlash from hospitality workers at Resorts World New York City Casino.
Introduced by Addabbo in January, Senate Bill S8185 looks to legalise online casino gaming in the Empire State, offering licences to the four downstate casinos and the three forthcoming upstate casinos.
However, nearly 700 employees at Resorts World New York City Casino have accused Addabbo of undermining that implementing igaming could threaten their land-based jobs, stated in a letter from the Hotel & Gaming Trades Council union.
“We find it appalling that you are pushing legislation that would hurt workers like us and our industry in order to benefit a handful of companies who are seeking massive profits at our expense,” read the letter.
Resorts World workers believe that regulating online casino gambling would negatively impact land-based facilities’ abilities to drive profits as retail casino activity could decline.
For January, the New York State Gaming Commission reported $49m in gross gaming revenue with $11.6m in gaming tax. Slots and electronic table games made up $33.9m of the state’s total revenue with traditional table games producing $14.1m and poker generating $885,334.
“This igaming proposal undercuts the best thing about casino gaming in New York: permanent, high-quality jobs that New Yorkers can live and retire on,” added the union’s Political Director Bhav Tibrewal.
Despite these pushbacks, the push for New York igaming has received the backing of several industry players, with Bet on NY estimating that regulation could bring up to $1bn in additional tax revenue annually.
