New York Casino Groups Dominate Highest Lobbying Spenders

Casino supporters’ efforts to land a New York casino operator’s license put them among the top spenders in the Big Apple’s lobbying industry.

The New York City Office of the City Clerk’s Lobbying Bureau annual report, lobbyists representing the three recipients of the right to build a downstate casino—Queens Future, LLC (Metropolitan Park), Genting New York LLC (Resorts World), and Bally’s Corp (Bally’s) were all among the top six in dollars spent in 2025.

The Coney, a failed casino group that intended to build a casino in Coney Island, also finished fourth in yearly spending.

New York casino lobbyists spent a ton

Metropolitan Park’s Queens Future, LLC spent $1.7 million in pursuit of an operator’s license, ranking first among all casino groups and second in the city. It also enlisted the help of 12 lobbying firms, which tied for the most.

The Coney’s TSG Coney Island Entertainment Holdco, which was denied the opportunity to advance to a final review by the Gaming Facility Location Board by its Community Advisory Committee, spent $1.4 million, the third-most in the city in 2024. It funneled all of that money into just four lobbying groups.

Genting New York LLC, representing the Resorts World project, spent more than $1.1 million, the fourth-most in the city. Its three lobbying firms were the lowest of all of the casino groups mentioned.

Bally’s Corp allocated $830,661 to their lobbying efforts, coming in sixth in NYC. It also sought the help of 12 lobbying firms.

Fittingly, the organizations representing the three casino licensees also spent the most money on lobbying of all casino groups in 2024. That included another leading mark of $1.4 million from Metropolitan Park, $990,000 from Genting, and $914,161 from Bally’s.

Counting the money

With the total amounts confirmed by the new report, the six- and seven-digit figures spent on lobbying will be dwarfed in comparison to the money that will be spent and received by the casino groups.

Each casino is responsible for paying $500 million for its license, along with pledging another $500 million in capital investments. That’s before anything is spent on the casino projects themselves, which will cost an estimated $4-8 billion each.

Bally’s is also responsible for paying $115 million to the Trump Organization, which tacked on a clause requiring the payment when it sold its lease to the Golf Links at Ferry Point location in Sept. 2023.

The Gaming Facility Location Board estimated that the three recommended projects would generate $7 billion in gaming tax revenue and $5.9 billion in other tax revenue during 10 years of operation from 2027 to 2036.

The first of the selected casinos that is expected to open is Resorts World NYC, which already maintained a casino in the area. New York casino players will have to wait a little longer for the other two, which are expected to open their doors in 2030.

Licensed casinos will be eligible to host common attractions, including live-dealer table games, slot machines, blackjack, and more.