New Congressional Proposal Aims to Regulate Casino Operators Effectively

Chuck Park, a former U.S. diplomat running for Congress, has proposed a ‘Game Over Act’ aimed at protecting working families from large casino operators. His announcement comes amid ongoing opposition to the Metropolitan Park casino currently being prepared for construction next to Citi Field in Flushing.

Park said the proposal responds to concerns raised by Queens residents about the potential long-term impacts of casino projects, including gambling addiction, rising housing costs and environmental impacts.

The Game Over Act 

The Game Over Act would create new federal public health and consumer protection standards for large casino operators, including a harm protection fund, a moratorium on casinos on federally subsidized sites, protection for minors from gambling advertisements, and independent public reporting on casino revenues and profits.

Park emphasized that the legislation is intended to ensure that casino operators — not taxpayers — bear responsibility for the public-health and community impacts associated with their business model.

“Working families shouldn’t be left picking up the pieces while billionaires try to cash in on casinos — that’s a concern I hear from voters across Queens every day,” Park said. “The Game Over Act will force casino operators to pay for their harms, warn customers about gambling addiction, and ban advertising to children.”

Through the act’s proposed Federal Gambling Harm Prevention Fund, casino operators would be required to pay into an independently managed fund for addiction treatment, crisis counseling, debt and bankruptcy assistance, family support services and multi-lingual, anti-gambling advertising in communities they impact. 

News release from Park's team

A news release from Park’s team noted that if independently measured indicators of gambling-related harm significantly increase — such as severe financial distress or demand for addiction treatment — casino operators would be required to increase contributions to this fund. 

“If elected officials are discussing expanded addiction treatment capacity before the Metropolitan Park casino even opens in Flushing, then taxpayers shouldn’t be footing those future costs alone,” the news release said. “Large corporate casino operators should be held to the same standards of public-health accountability that are increasingly being applied to the alcohol, tobacco and other addiction-linked industries.”

By establishing a moratorium on casinos on federally subsidized sites, the Game Over Act would prevent casinos and other gaming facilities from being built on land that has received any federal subsidy — whether through federal grants or exemption from federal taxes — until the value of such subsidy is repaid in full, plus interest.

The act also aims to bolster consumer protection by requiring casino operators to provide customers with cumulative spending disclosures, cooling-off protections for extended gambling activity, and prominent, multilingual addiction warnings. 

Additionally, they would be required to impose caps on ATM and cash-advance fees within casino facilities.

Consumer protections would also be expanded for minors through advertisement restrictions. The act would prevent casino operators, gambling establishments and designated contract markets from advertising gambling products or services in any medium — including television, radio, print, digital platforms and outdoor signage — where a significant portion of the audience is reasonably expected to be minors.

All gambling advertisements would also be required to include addiction warnings. 

These proposed restrictions are consistent with standards applied to tobacco advertising restrictions. 

Violations would result in escalating financial penalties payable into the proposed Federal Gambling Harm Prevention Fund, with repeat violations subject to suspension or revocation of operating licenses.

Lastly, large casino operators would be required to publish independent biannual reports on revenues and profits, as well as community impacts.

Meng statement

Meng, who has represented the district since 2013, said she “[doesn’t] love the idea of a casino” in her district during a phone-in town hall on May 19, but the project is moving forward anyway and her goal is to ensure the casino operators are held accountable for their promises made to the community.

While she has not put forward a comprehensive plan to ensure accountability, she emphasized that she supports efforts to hold Metropolitan Park to their word.

“As I’ve stated, I’ve remained concerned about [the casino’s] impact on our district,” Meng said in a statement to QNS on Tuesday. “But my focus now has to be on what comes next — and that means strict, serious oversight. Every commitment the developers made to this community need to be monitored and enforced. That is my role going forward, and I take it seriously.”

Casino supporters

Supporters of the casino have continued to emphasize proposed economic benefits of the project, including over 20,000 union jobs, a new park, updates to the Willets Park subway station and a food hall.

Without the casino, supporters said, there would be no economic driver to support any of the proposed public developments.

“Right now, it’s an unused, 50-acre piece of blacktop and asphalt that hasn’t been used well in the last 75 years before the first World’s Fair,” said Thomas Grech, president of the Queens Chamber of Commerce. “So now, there’s a real chance here to help the community at large.”

While the Metropolitan Park casino team did not respond to QNS’s request for comment, a casino spokesperson previously addressed concerns about problem gambling. They noted that public benefits of the casino would include a Community Impact Fund and specific funding for responsible gaming, addiction and mental health services. “We take our responsibility to be a good neighbor and a good partner seriously,” the spokesperson said.

However, the American Psychiatric Association has published studies warning that gambling disorder is associated with dramatically elevated suicide risk, financial distress and mental health harm. The association noted that only a small percentage of people struggling with gambling addiction seek and receive treatment. 

The proposed casino sits in one of the most immigrant-heavy, working class and Asian-majority congressional districts in the country. These projects disproportionately affect Asians, who comprise 45% of the congressional district and over 70% of Flushing. 

Large developments, including casino projects, have historically increased nearby rents and property taxes. In Corona and Flushing, more than 75% of residents are renters and more than 15,800 renters spend over half their income on rent.

The Metropolitan Park casino project would also privatize land currently designated as public parkland and nearly double the number of parking spaces on the site, which opponents argue would increase traffic and pollution.

Park’s team said the Game Over Act would respect tribal sovereignty and would not apply to tribal gaming operations governed through federally recognized tribal compacts, citing historic exclusion of the Indigenous community from other forms of economic development.