"Two recent developments would expand the state’s role in gambling — something that should give pause even to tapped-out New York taxpayers.

First, a recent decision by the U.S. Justice Department cleared the way for the state to get into the business of online gambling. The New York Lottery had simply asked whether it was OK to sell lottery tickets online. It received permission to do pretty much anything short of sports betting across state lines — including online poker games and virtual slot machines. New York lottery officials plan to go slow, but the rush is already on among other states to see who can cash in first on billions of dollars in revenues.

Second, Gov. Andrew Cuomo is pushing an amendment to the state constitution that would legalize casino gambling in New York. In his State of the State message earlier this month, Cuomo said New York is passing up $1 billion in economic activity by not allowing casino gaming outside of a handful of tribal casinos and racinos in the state. On Tuesday, in a letter to the Legislature, Cuomo took pains to separate the state’s plan to build the nation’s largest convention center at Aqueduct Raceway, in Queens, from the gaming amendment. But it seems pretty clear that a casino would be integral to the convention center’s success."

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Editorial: Legalized Gambling: Casinos aren’t the answer to New York’s problems (The Syracuse Post-Standard 1/11)