1311. License authorization; restrictions. 1. The commission is authorized to award up to four gaming facility licenses, in regions one, two and five of zone two. The duration of such initial license shall be ten years. The term of renewal shall be determined by the commission. The commission may award a second license to a qualified applicant in no more than a single region. The commission is not empowered to award any license in zone one. No gaming facilities are authorized under this article for the city of New York or any other portion of zone one.
As a condition of licensure, licensees are required to commence gaming operations no more than twenty-four months following license award. No additional licenses may be awarded during the twenty-four month period, nor for an additional sixty months following the end of the twenty-four month period. Should the state legislatively authorize additional gaming facility licenses within these periods, licensees shall have the right to recover the license fee paid pursuant to section one thousand three hundred six of this article.
This right shall be incorporated into the license itself, vest upon the opening of a gaming facility in zone one or in the same region as the licensee and entitle the holder of such license to bring an action in the court of claims to recover the license fee paid pursuant to section one thousand three hundred fifteen of this article in the event that any gaming facility license in excess of the number authorized by this section as of the effective date of this section is awarded within seven years from the date that the initial gaming facility license is awarded. This right to recover any such fee shall be proportionate to the length of the respective period that is still remaining upon the vesting of such right.
Additionally, the right to bring an action in the court of claims to recover the fee paid to the state on the twenty-fourth day of September, two thousand ten, by the operator of a video lottery gaming facility in a city of more than one million shall vest with such operator upon the opening of any gaming facility licensed by the commission in zone one within seven years from the date that the initial gaming facility license is awarded; provided however that the amount recoverable shall be limited to the pro rata amount of the time remaining until the end of the seven year exclusivity period, proportionate to the period of time between the date of opening of the video lottery facility until the conclusion of the seven year period.
2. Notwithstanding the foregoing, no casino gaming facility shall be authorized:
(a) in the counties of Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Hamilton, Jefferson, Lewis, Saint Lawrence and Warren;
(b) within the following area: (1) to the east, State Route 14 from Sodus Point to the Pennsylvania border with New York; (2) to the north, the border between New York and Canada; (3) to the south, the Pennsylvania border with New York; and (4) to the west, the border between New York and Canada and the border between Pennsylvania and New York; and
(c) in the counties of Cayuga, Chenango, Cortland, Herkimer, Lewis, Madison, Oneida, Onondaga, Oswego and Otsego.
Last modified: February 3, 2019