Introduction to New York Slot Machine Casino Gambling in 2019
New York slot machine casino gambling consists of four casino resorts, nine pari-mutuel racing racinos, and eleven tribal casinos. Each tribal casino has either Class II and Class III gaming machines. Cruise ships to international destinations with onboard casinos depart from the New York Manhattan Cruise Terminal. Canadian casinos in Ontario are readily available across the border from Buffalo and in Montreal.
Only VLTs at Class III tribal casinos have a legally set minimum payout return. Payout returns for the commercial casino resorts are the only statistics available to the public.
List of casinos in the U.S. State of New York; Casino City County State District Type Comments Akwesasne Mohawk Casino: External links. Media related to Casinos in New York at Wikimedia Commons.
This post continues the weekly series Online Resource: A State-By-State Slot Machine Casino Gambling Series, an online resource dedicated to guiding slot machine casino gambling enthusiasts to success. Each weekly post reviews slots gambling in a single U.S. state, territory, or the federal district.
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Relevant Legal Statutes on Gambling in New York*
The minimum legal gambling age in New York depends upon the gambling activity:
- Land-Based Casinos: 21/18
- Poker Rooms: 21
- Bingo: 18
- Lottery: 18
- Pari-Mutuel Wagering: 18
The legal age for gambling is 21 for casinos run by the Seneca Nation of Indians through the Seneca Gaming Corporation, but 18 for other casinos in the state of New York.
Tribal casinos in the state of New York had only Class II bingo halls until 1993. That year, a successfully negotiated state-tribal compact was approved for Class III Vegas-style gaming by the federally-recognized St. Regis Mohawk Tribe.
Per such tribal-state compacts, slot machines at all Class III tribal casinos are video lottery terminals (VLTs) controlled by the New York State Lottery. While these electronic games appear as typical video slot machines, the results of a bet are instead determined by the central lottery system.
At non-tribal casinos, the result of a bet on a slot machine is not determined by the state lottery server, but instead by a microchip in the machine itself or by a central computer located in the casino.
*The purpose of this section is to inform the public of state gambling laws and how the laws apply to various forms of gambling. This information is not intended to provide legal advice.
Slot Machine Private Ownership in New York
It is legal to privately own a slot machine in the state of New York if it is 30 years old or older.
Gaming Control Board in New York
Created in 2012, the New York State Gaming Commission was merged from the New York State Division of Lottery and the New York State Racing and Wagering Board. As a result, the Commission regulates all aspects of gaming activity in the state of New York including charitable gaming.
Casinos in New York
Residents of the state of New York have many types of casinos available to them, including:
- 4 commercial casino resorts
- 11 American Indian tribal casinos
- 4 tribal casinos with Class II competition-style slots
- 7 tribal casinos with Class III Vegas-style slots
- 9 pari-mutuel racetracks with slot machines (racinos)
- Cruise ships departing from the New York Manhattan Cruise Terminal
- Canadian casinos across the border to the Province of Ontario
- Canadian casinos across the border to the Province of Quebec
The largest casino in New York is Resorts World Casino New York City in Jamaica, a pari-mutuel racino having 4,995 gaming machines and 475 table games.
The second largest casino is Seneca Niagara Casino & Hotel in Niagara Falls, a tribal casino with Class III Las Vegas-style gaming having 3,300 gaming machines and 100 table games.
List of Casinos in New York
The 13 casino resorts and
- Batavia Downs Gaming & Hotel a pari-mutuel racino in Batavia found 44 miles east of Buffalo.
- Del Lago Resort & Casino a commercial casino in Waterloo found 47 miles west of Syracuse.
- Empire City Casino a pari-mutuel racino in Yonkers found 22 miles North-northeast of New York City.
- Finger Lakes Gaming & Racetrack a pari-mutuel racino in Farmington found 64 miles west of Syracuse.
- Hamburg Gaming at The Fairgrounds a pari-mutuel racino in Hamburg found 13 miles south of Buffalo.
- Jake’s 58 Hotel & Casino a pari-mutuel racino in Islandia found 50 miles east of New York City.
- Monticello Gaming & Raceway a pari-mutuel racino in Monticello found 95 miles northwest of New York City.
- Resorts World Casino New York City a pari-mutuel racino in Jamaica, Queens found 17 miles east of New York City.
- Resorts World Catskills a commercial casino in Kiamesha Lake found 96 miles northwest of New York City.
- Rivers Casino & Resort Schenectady a commercial casino in Schenectady found 128 miles east of Syracuse.
- Saratoga Casino Hotel a pari-mutuel racino in Saratoga Springs found 139 miles east of Syracuse.
- Tioga
Downs a commercial casino in Nichols found 102 miles south of Syracuse. - Vernon Downs Casino Hotel a pari-mutuel racino in Vernon found 39 miles east of Syracuse.
List of Tribal Casinos in New York
The 11 Class II bingo-style and Class III Vegas-style tribal casinos in the state of New York are:
- Akwesasne Mohawk Casino Resort a tribal casino with Class III Las Vegas-style gaming in Hogansburg found 176 miles northeast of Syracuse on the Canadian border near Montreal, Quebec.
- Lakeside Entertainment a tribal casino with Class II bingo-style gaming in Union Springs found 41 miles southwest of Syracuse.
- Point Place Casino a tribal casino with Class III Las Vegas-style gaming in Bridgeport found 15 miles northeast of Syracuse.
- Seneca Allegany Casino & Hotel a tribal casino with Class III Las Vegas-style gaming in Salamanca found 63 miles south of Buffalo.
- Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino a tribal casino with Class III Las Vegas-style gaming in Buffalo.
- Seneca Gaming – Irving a tribal casino with Class II bingo-style gaming in Irving found 29 miles southwest of Buffalo.
- Seneca Gaming – Oil Spring a tribal casino with Class II bingo-style gaming in Cuba found 69 miles southeast of Buffalo.
- Seneca Gaming – Salamanca a tribal casino with Class II bingo-style gaming in Salamanca found 63 miles south of Buffalo.
- Seneca Niagara Casino a tribal casino with Class III Las Vegas-style gaming in Niagara Falls found 19 miles northwest of Buffalo on the Canadian border to Quebec.
- Turning Stone Casino Resort a tribal casino with Class III Las Vegas-style gaming in Verona found 35 miles east of Syracuse.
- Yellow Brick Road Casino a tribal casino with Class III Las Vegas-style gaming in Chittenango found 16 miles west of Syracuse.
Other Gambling Establishments
As an alternative to enjoying New York slot machine casino gambling, consider exploring casino options in a nearby state. New York is bordered by:
- North: Canadian Provinces of Ontario and Quebec
- East: Connecticut Slots, Massachusetts Slots, and Vermont Slots
- South and West: Pennsylvania Slots and New Jersey Slots
Each of the links above will take you to my state-specific blog for that bordering state to New York.
Canadian casinos exist across the international border from the State of New York in the Niagara Falls area near Buffalo as well as the upstate New York area in Montreal.
The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, the Ontario government’s gaming control agency, is switching operators for the casinos near Buffalo in the summer of 2019. Individually, Casino Niagara and Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort will no longer be operated by Falls Management Group LP but instead by Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment.
Payout Returns in New York
Given the many types of gaming regulations for slot machines in the state of New York, payout return limits and reporting statistics come in several varieties. I will review each.
Class II competition-style electronic gaming machines at tribal casinos are subject to tribal-state compacts only, which do not set limits nor require public reporting.
Class III Vegas-style tribal casinos have VLTs controlled by the New York State Lottery. These VLT slot machines have a minimum payout return of 92%. No actual payout return statistics are publicly available.
Betting results for slot machines at commercial casino resorts and pari-mutuel racinos are controlled on location per usual machine internal microchip or casino central server.
Commercial casino resorts and pari-mutuel racinos do not appear to have a minimum payout return limit. Actual payout returns are publicly available for both from the state gaming commission, but on separate webpages. These are weekly and monthly reports.
Be aware that win% is not provided directly in the monthly reports. For slots, a small calculation is necessary. Specifically, divide the Credits Won column by the Credits Played column then multiply the result by 100% to get the percentage of payout returned to the player.
For the weekly reports, the formula for win% is slightly different. In these reports, Credits Won is not directly available but calculated by adding together the two columns Promotional Slot Gaming Credits and Slot ETG GGR.
These reports are in pdf format but also as a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet which, if you already use and have Excel, makes this calculation relatively easy. The payout return for the current fiscal year is at the bottom of the Credits Won column.
Payout return statistics for each casino resort is publicly available at the Commission’s Commercial Gaming Reports webpage. The monthly payout return for February 2019 at each casino resort was:
- Del Lago Resort & Casino: 90.79%
- Resorts World Catskills: 90.98%
- Rivers Casino & Resort Schenectady: 90.55%
- Tioga Downs: 91.38%
In February 2019, the highest payout return for a commercial casino resort was at Tioga Downs with 91.38% while the lowest payout return was at Rivers Casino with 90.55%.
Payout return statistics for VLT-style video slot machines at racinos is publicly available at the Commission’s Video Gaming Reports webpage. The monthly payout return for February 2019 at each racino including an entry for all racinos in the state was:
- Batavia Downs Gaming & Hotel: 91.52%
- Empire City Casino: 92.99%
- Finger Lakes Gaming & Racetrack: 92.18%
- Hamburg Gaming at The Fairgrounds: 91.53%
- Jake’s 58 Hotel & Casino: 93.88%
- Monticello Gaming & Raceway: 92.44%
- Nassau Downs at Resorts World New York City: 97.39%
- Resorts World New York City: 94.17%
- Saratoga Casino Hotel: 92.17%
- Vernon Downs Casino Hotel: 91.40%
In February 2019, the highest payout return for a pari-mutuel racino was at Nassau Downs at Resorts World New York City with 97.39% while the lowest payout return was at Vernon Downs with 91.40%. For the same month, the overall state total was 94.08%.
Our New York Slots Facebook Group
Are you interested in sharing and learning with other slots enthusiasts in New York? If so, join our new New York slots community on Facebook. All you’ll need is a Facebook profile to freely join this closed Facebook Group.
There, you’ll be able to privately share your slots experiences as well as chat with players about slots gambling in or near New York. Come join us!
Summary of New York Slot Machine Casino Gambling in 2019
New York slot machine casino gambling consists of four casino resorts, nine racinos, four tribal casinos with Class II bingo-style machines, and seven tribal casinos with Class III Vegas-style slots. Residents of the state of New York also have international cruise ships and Canadian casinos available to them.
Only VLTs at Class III tribal casinos have a legally set minimum payout return, which is 92%, as they are operated by the state lottery. Tribal casinos do not offer payout return statistics, but casino resorts and racinos have extensive weekly and monthly public reports available online.
New York Casinos
Annual Progress in New York Slot Machine Casino Gambling
The Monticello Casino & Raceway has announced it will be closing on April 23, 2019, at which point it will be uniting with Resorts World Catskills.
In the summer of 2019, the Ontario casinos across the Canadian border from Buffalo will be changing operators to Mohegan Gaming and Entertainment as arranged by the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, the Ontario government agency responsible for conducting and managing casino gaming in Ontario.
The number of slot machines at Resorts World Casino New York City have been reduced by 10%, from 5,550 to 4,995. Finally, in the last year the new Class III Vegas-style tribal casino Point Place Casino opened in Bridgeport.
Archive: New York Slot Machine Casino Gambling in 2018
Related Articles from Professor Slots
Other State-By-State Articles from Professor Slots
- Previous: New Mexico Slot Machine Casino Gambling in 2019
- Next: North Carolina Slot Machine Casino Gambling in 2019
Have fun, be safe, and make good choices!
By Jon H. Friedl, Jr. Ph.D., President
Jon Friedl, LLC
Use our interactive New York casinos map to see all casinos in New York.
How to use our map of casinos in New York
You can easily see all casino locations by using our New York casinos map. To zoom in, just click the + (plus) sign in the lower right corner of the map, or to zoom out, just click the – (minus) sign in the same area.
Casino New Online York
To move the map of casinos in New York, click and hold down either of your mouse buttons. Then use the hand icon to drag the map in whichever direction you desire.
Each of the red icons on the map is a casino location. Just click on any red icon to see the name of the casino at that location. If you want more information on that casino, simply click again on the casino’s name and it will direct you to another page with detailed information on that particular casino, including: address, phone number, toll-free phone number, room rates, casino size, dining information, games offered, availability of discounts for seniors, any special features, and a direct link to that casino’s website.
Types of Casinos in New York
There are four different types of casinos in New York: regular Class III casinos (such as those found in Nevada and New Jersey); Class III Indian casinos; Class II Indian casinos; and pari-mutuel casinos. There are some distinct differences among these New York casinos and they are explained below.
REGULAR CASINOS (Class III)
There are four regular Class III casinos in New York state. All of these New York casinos offer regular table games, such as: blackjack, roulette, craps and baccarat, as well as slots and video poker. The minimum gambling age is 21 at all of these New York casinos and all are open 24 hours, except for Tioga Downs.
INDIAN CASINOS (Class III)
There are five Indian casinos located in upstate New York which offer traditional Class III casino gambling.
All of these casinos are open 24 hours and offer the table games as well as electronic gaming machines. The minimum gambling age is 21 at the three Seneca casinos and 18 at the other two casinos. No public information is available concerning the payback percentages on any gaming machines in New York’s Indian casinos.
INDIAN CASINOS (Class II)
There are some Indian casinos that offer Class II gambling which consist of electronic gaming machines which look like slot machines, but are actually games of bingo and the spinning video reels are for “entertainment purposes only.” No public information is available concerning the payback percentages on the video gaming machines.
PARI-MUTUEL CASINOS
In October 2001, legislation was passed to allow for the introduction of slot machine-type video lottery machines at New York racetracks. Officially referred to as Video Gaming Machines (VGM’s), they are regulated by the New York State Lottery Division.
The VGM’s do not operate like regular slot machines. Instead, they are similar to scratch-off-type lottery tickets with a pre-determined number of winners.
If you are looking for casinos in Manhattan, then you will be disappointed. But, there is one in a neighboring borough. It is Resorts World Casino New York City and it is located in Queens.
All Video Gaming Machine facilities are allowed to be open for 20 hours and day, with varying hours. Some are open 8am-4am, some are open 9am-5am, etc. and all are non-smoking. The minimum gambling age is 18 for playing VGM’s, as well as for pari-mutuel betting.
Want to See an Alphabetical List of All Casinos in New York?
Best Casino In New York
Check out our New York casinos page to see an alphabetical list of every casino in that state.