Casino bids placed big bets on New York City lobbying firms in 2025

Casinos put their chips in on lobbying in 2025, and the bidders showed their hands in the annual report released Monday by the New York City Office of the City Clerk’s Lobbying Bureau. Among the top 10 biggest spenders on lobbying last year are four companies that pushed for casinos to be built in the city – including all three that won licenses.

Queens Future, the team that recently broke ground on a new casino complex adjacent to Citi Field once again hired more lobbying firms than any other group. The company reported paying nearly $1.7 million total to 11 firms, including newcomer to the top 10 lobbying firms list, Hollis Public Affairs.

TSG Coney Island, the group behind the proposed hotel and casino in Coney Island, paid more than $1.4 million to retained lobbying firms. Their bid was ultimately rejected by the Brooklyn Community Advisory Committee in September 2025. Genting New York, a company approved to proceed with the expansion of Resorts World in Queens, spent $1.1 million. And Bally’s Corporation cashed out more than $830,000 in the last year on the way to getting a license for a casino in Throggs Neck in the Bronx.

However the top lobbying spending in New York City last year wasn’t a casino team – it was Maddd Equities, a real estate developer focused on affordable housing, paid just over $1.8 million to six lobbying firms. Maddd is ushering several high profile projects through the City Council, including the redevelopment of the Kingsbridge Armory and the Bronx General Post Office. 

The other top clients were Airbnb, which lobbied hard last year for a bill that would roll back strict short term rental regulations; Northwell Health, a health care system expanding Lenox Hill Hospital on the Upper East Side; Seaport Entertainment Group which operates the South Street Seaport in Manhattan; RAI Services Company, a tobacco business lobbying against regulations on vapes and menthol cigarettes; and Maplebear, the company doing business as Instacart, which fought a bill meant to raise wages for grocery delivery workers. 

The top lobbying firm ranked by total compensation was Kasirer, which has held the top spot for nine straight years after unseating Capalino in 2017. With a massive client list 240 strong, dwarfing all other firms, Kasirer reported more than $17 million in compensation last year. Following Kasirer was Bolton-St. Johns, Pitta Bishop & Del Giorno, Hollis Public Affairs and Constantinople & Vallone Consulting. Overall, registered lobbyists reported more than $144 million in total compensation in 2025 – the highest on record, topping last year’s $138 million total. 

Next year’s lobbying report may look vastly different. There’s been huge turnover in city government, with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and City Council Speaker Julie Menin coming into office, and the multi-year contest for downstate casino licenses ended in December.