Zohran Mamdani’s election comes at the same moment New York State is getting ready to call time on its long, messy downstate casino race. He takes office on January 1, 2026; the state aims to make its selections by the end of 2025. In other words, the big choices will be locked in before he ever sets foot in City Hall.
On the trail, Mamdani didn’t hide his discomfort with growing gambling in the city. He talked openly about the social costs and the scale of the proposals. At the same time, he kept pointing to a simple fact: casino licensing is a state job. That mix, personal skepticism paired with a clear read of where the power sits, has been his through-line. He may not love the idea, but he’s not pretending the mayor can flip the switch.
What’s more, offshore, crypto, sweepstakes, and free-play casinos are all available in New York. Players are therefore already enjoying casino games online, but without any tax benefits for the state. Playing free titles allows players to explore features and paytables, get a feel for volatility and return rates, and compare themes on both mobile and desktop, giving useful context for understanding the appeal while keeping financial risk at zero (source: https://www.adventuregamers.com/online-slots/free). Moreover, offshore casinos allow real-money play, but don’t generate taxes for the state like locally-licensed casinos do in the handful of states that have legalized them to date.
In New York, the Gaming Facility Location Board and the State Gaming Commission run the process. Every bid first faces a Community Advisory Committee, a six-member panel pulled from different local offices, one seat belongs to the mayor’s pick, while others come from the governor, borough president, local legislators, and the council member. A proposal needs four out of six votes to get through. Even then, it still has to clear zoning and environmental reviews before the state weighs the final slate.
Can the mayor influence things around the edges? A bit. The appointment to each CAC matters, and City Hall can shape land-use debates. Earlier this year, for instance, Mayor Eric Adams used a veto to block a Council measure that would have slowed the Bronx plan. But the broader machine kept turning. That’s the point here: there are multiple gates, and the last one is in Albany, not at City Hall.
By now, the field has thinned. Manhattan’s headline bids, Times Square, Hudson Yards, and Freedom Plaza, couldn’t get past their committees. Coney Island in Brooklyn stalled, too. With those off the board, attention has shifted to three survivors: an expansion of Resorts World at Aqueduct in Queens, the Metropolitan Park plan at Citi Field backed by Steve Cohen and Hard Rock, and Bally’s Bronx on the former Trump Links site at Ferry Point. All three cleared their CACs with comfortable margins in late September and moved into the state’s queue. MGM’s Empire City in Yonkers, once seen as a favorite, stepped aside, another sign the picture changed fast over the summer and fall.
Analysts now see those three New York City projects as the likely winners, barring a surprise in the final review. That doesn’t mean construction cranes will arrive tomorrow. Environmental work, design adjustments, community benefit negotiations, and the usual round of legal and financing steps will follow. But the path is visible.
So where does Mamdani fit? In short, he’ll inherit outcomes, not set them. His comments make clear he won’t mount a symbolic fight; he knows the city can’t win. That doesn’t make him a cheerleader; it means he sees this as a state call and plans to meet the reality on day one. The real work starts after the awards: shaping traffic plans, transit links, hiring pipelines, neighborhood protections, and benefits agreements—classic mayoral lanes that matter as much as any ribbon-cutting.
Zoom out, and the politics are simple. Voters picked a mayor wary of casinos. The state built a process with local checkpoints but kept the final say. Manhattan said no; Queens and the Bronx said yes enough to advance. And the clock runs out before he’s sworn in. When Mamdani takes office, the choices will be set. His job will be to make sure the city gets the upside it was promised—and that neighborhoods aren’t left with the bill.
