§ 1311 — License authorization; restrictions

§ 1311. License authorization; restrictions. 1. The commission is\nauthorized to award up to four gaming facility licenses, in regions one,\ntwo and five of zone two. The duration of such initial license shall be\nten years. The term of renewal shall be determined by the commission.\nThe commission may award a second license to a qualified applicant in no\nmore than a single region. The commission is not empowered to award any\nlicense nor are any gaming facilities authorized under this title for\nthe city of New York or any other portion of zone one.\n As a condition of licensure, licensees are required to commence gaming\noperations no more than twenty-four months following license award. No\nadditional licenses may be awarded during the twenty-four month period,\nnor for an additional sixty months following the end of the twenty-four\nmonth period. Should the state legislatively authorize additional gaming\nfacility licenses within these periods, licensees shall have the right\nto recover the license fee paid pursuant to section one thousand three\nhundred six of this article.\n This right shall be incorporated into the license itself, vest upon\nthe opening of a gaming facility in zone one or in the same region as\nthe licensee and entitle the holder of such license to bring an action\nin the court of claims to recover the license fee paid pursuant to\nsection one thousand three hundred fifteen of this title in the event\nthat any gaming facility license in excess of the number authorized by\nthis section as of the effective date of this section is awarded within\nseven years from the date that the initial gaming facility license is\nawarded. This right to recover any such fee shall be proportionate to\nthe length of the respective period that is still remaining upon the\nvesting of such right.\n Additionally, the right to bring an action in the court of claims to\nrecover the fee paid to the state on the twenty-fourth day of September,\ntwo thousand ten, by the operator of a video lottery gaming facility in\na city of more than one million shall vest with such operator upon the\nopening of any gaming facility licensed by the commission in zone one\nwithin seven years from the date that the initial gaming facility\nlicense is awarded; provided however that the amount recoverable shall\nbe limited to the pro rata amount of the time remaining until the end of\nthe seven year exclusivity period, proportionate to the period of time\nbetween the date of opening of the video lottery facility until the\nconclusion of the seven year period.\n 2. Notwithstanding the foregoing, no casino gaming facility shall be\nauthorized:\n (a) in the counties of Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Hamilton, Jefferson,\nLewis, Saint Lawrence and Warren;\n (b) within the following area: (1) to the east, State Route 14 from\nSodus Point to the Pennsylvania border with New York; (2) to the north,\nthe border between New York and Canada; (3) to the south, the\nPennsylvania border with New York; and (4) to the west, the border\nbetween New York and Canada and the border between Pennsylvania and New\nYork; and\n (c) in the counties of Cayuga, Chenango, Cortland, Herkimer, Lewis,\nMadison, Oneida, Onondaga, Oswego and Otsego.\n 3. As a condition for continued licensure, licensees shall be required\nto house upon the physical premises of the licensed gaming facility,\nupon request, a mobile sports wagering platform provider's server or\nother equipment used for receiving mobile sports wagers pursuant to\nsection 1367-a of this article; provided however, that such licensee\nshall be entitled to the reasonable and actual costs, as determined by\nthe gaming commission, of physically housing and securing such server or\nother equipment used for receiving mobile sports wagers at such\nlicensee's licensed gaming facility; and provided further, for the\nduration of the initial license term, a mobile sports wagering platform\nprovider shall pay two and one-half million dollars per year. Each\ngaming facility licensed under title two of this article shall receive\nfive million dollars per year, which shall be paid no later than May\nfirst of each year.\n