Casino & Gaming Attorneys

As casino, gaming and entertainment venues continue to proliferate across the state of New York, it is crucial to protect the rights of individuals and municipalities and preserve the quality of life in our local communities. At O’Connell and Aronowitz, we have a long standing reputation for challenging federal and state governmental action or inaction in the unique and complex area of gaming law, including Indian gaming law.

While the state’s constitution prohibits gambling, exempt entities such as casinos, gaming equipment manufacturers, the lottery and racing industries wield great power in shaping gambling laws, at times to the detriment of our residents. We are committed to limiting the spread of gambling and have recently challenged New York’s new fantasy sport law.

We believe that these online attractions are illegal games of chance that have been mischaracterized as “games of skill.” As such, these sites may not only be operating in violation of the state’s gambling laws, but also exploiting those who are financially desperate and addicted to gambling.  In conjunction with the anti-gaming group Stop Predatory Gambling, we have filed a lawsuit challenging this law and will continue to fight for the rights of those who have been negatively impacted by gambling.

Representative Matters

• Citizens Against Casino Gambling v. Hogen, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 52395 (W.D.N.Y. 2008), we successfully overturned the National Indian Gaming Commission’s administrative approval granting the Seneca Nation of Indians the right to conduct off-reservation gambling in downtown Buffalo on the grounds that the agency’s action was arbitrary, capricious, and not in accordance with the law.

• Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce Inc. v. Pataki, 100 N.Y.2d 801 (2003), cert. denied, 540 U.S. 1017(2003), we successfully invalidated a tribal-state gambling compact between the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe and the State of New York on the ground that the agreement violated the principle of separation of powers under the New York State Constitution.

Ultimately our objective is to protect the public from predatory gambling, and the state’s ill conceived attempt to rely on gambling as an economic development strategy in lieu of sound tax and fiscal policies. By stemming the influence of deep pocketed gaming developers, we hope to improve the lives of people in our communities.