When Is the Next Cannabis Lottery in New York? 2025 Guide

New York has not announced a date for its next cannabis licensing lottery. The state's Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) ran its last major lottery-style rounds tied to the CAURD program in 2022 and 2023, then shifted to an open application window that closed in early 2025. Until OCM publishes a new notice, any specific date you see online is a guess.

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When is the next cannabis lottery in New York?

As of the most recent licensing cycle, there is no scheduled lottery date. OCM said future retail licenses would be issued based on the applications it already received, and that lotteries would only be used again if demand for a license type far exceeds the supply available.

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New York does not run lotteries on a fixed calendar. Each round is triggered by a regulation change or a new application window, so the timing depends on how fast OCM processes the backlog.

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How New York's cannabis lottery system works

A cannabis lottery in New York is a random drawing used to rank applicants when more people apply than there are licenses available. Applicants first pass a qualification review, then a random-number generator assigns each qualified application a position in line.

Not every license type goes through a lottery. If OCM receives fewer qualified applications than the number of licenses it can issue, it awards those licenses directly without a drawing.

What was the CAURD lottery?

The Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary (CAURD) program was New York's first retail licensing round, aimed at people with prior cannabis convictions and certain nonprofit organizations. OCM held CAURD lotteries in late 2022 and again in 2023 to set the order in which qualified applicants were reviewed.

CAURD drew thousands of applicants for a few hundred licenses, which is why a lottery was needed. Court challenges paused parts of the program for months, which pushed dispensary openings well past the original timeline.

Did New York hold a lottery for the 2024-2025 window?

No. OCM opened a broad adult-use application window in November 2024 that ran into early 2025, covering retail dispensaries, cultivators, processors, distributors, and microbusinesses. That round was application-based rather than lottery-based, and OCM has been reviewing those submissions since the window closed.

Why the next lottery date keeps changing

New York's licensing timeline has moved several times because of lawsuits, regulatory rewrites, and the sheer volume of applications. A single court ruling can freeze a round for months, which pushes every later step back.

State regulators also adjust rules between rounds, for example by changing fees, ownership caps, or social equity criteria. Each change has to go through public comment before a new window can open.

How to find out when the next lottery opens

• Check the OCM licensing page, which posts every new application window and lottery notice.
• Sign up for OCM's email alerts so you get the notice the day it publishes.
• Watch the New York State Register, where rule changes appear before a window opens.
• Follow trade outlets that cover New York licensing, since they usually report a new round within hours.

What the lottery means for cannabis shoppers

Every license awarded eventually becomes a storefront, so lottery and application rounds decide how many dispensaries open near you. More licensed retailers generally means more product variety, fresher inventory, and more competitive pricing.

Until new licenses convert into open stores, the legal market in many New York counties stays thin. That is one reason shoppers still see long drives to the nearest open dispensary.

Frequently asked questions

Is New York still holding cannabis lotteries?

New York has the legal authority to run lotteries and has used them before, but no new lottery is currently scheduled. Future drawings depend on application volume for each license category.

How many retail licenses will New York issue?

State law caps the number of adult-use retail licenses, and OCM has said it intends to issue licenses in phases rather than all at once. The exact count for the next phase has not been finalized.

Can I still apply if I missed the last window?

You cannot apply to a closed window, but OCM can reopen categories or add new ones later. Your best step is to prepare your business documents now so you can file quickly when the next notice drops.

Because dates shift, treat any lottery date that does not come from OCM as unconfirmed. Verify the current status directly with the state before you plan around it.