A non-native coalition of New York gaming firms has formed to have a say in any new Seneca tribal compact with the state. [Image: Shutterstock.com]

Coalition wants fair deal

Fear of missing out (FOMO) is a leading reason why a new political coalition comprised of an upstate New York casino and three video lottery racetrack venues has come out swinging.

The Fair Compact for All Coalition (FCAC) took to X Wednesday to announce its formation to “ensure a transparent and equitable process” in New York state’s new gaming compact with the Seneca Nation:

FCAC stated it is fighting to protect its own operational future and that of the New York communities that frequent its gaming venues. Communities, the coalition says, that have “come to depend on” the success of the four non-Native American gaming entities.

Any new Seneca gaming compact, FCAC stated, “must protect the future viability” of both its gaming operations and communities.  

Suspicious minds

On its website, FCAC talked up how its members pay $180m in annual gaming tax, which flows from state coffers mostly into New York education aid.

The FCAC coalition is made up of Finger Lakes and Western New York casinos and racinos, including Batavia Downs, del Lago Resort and Casino, Finger Lakes Gaming and Racetrack, and Hamburg Gaming.

The $180m, FCAC said, was “considerably more than the annual revenue the Seneca Nation has shared over the duration of its existing compact with Western New York communities.”

While FCAC was hammering the Seneca Nation over taxes, Finger Lakes Gaming President and General Manager, Chris Riegle, stuck the knife into both the tribe and the Hochul administration.

According to Spectrum News 1 on Wednesday, the Finger Lakes Gaming exec said FCAC can’t and wouldn’t “tolerate any middle-of-the-night deals that lack transparency, public input and data-driven economic analysis.” 

Riegle’s “middle-of-the-night” reference is a thinly veiled attack on how close the Hochul administration and the Seneca Nation came to having New York state sanction a bill that would have given the tribe the right to build a casino in Rochester. State lawmakers raised the alarm about the two parties’ “secret” deal at the last minute.

Clock’s ticking

The formation of the coalition and Riegle’s comments reflect FCAC members’ deep wariness as the current Seneca gaming compact edges nearer to its December 9 expiration date.

As for the Senecas, Spectrum cited the tribe as stating that its three casinos in the state accounted for thousands of jobs, hundreds of millions of dollars in wages, and over $1bn “in annual economic impact to the region.”

FCAC was sticking its nose in where it didn’t belong

The tribe also basically said FCAC was sticking its nose in where it didn’t belong. The Senecas said FCAC “represents competing gaming interests inserting themselves into government-to-government negotiations.”