Money isn't the issue. If it were, other parties (like the various claimants to .app) would have b̶r̶i̶b̶e̶d̶ convinced ICANN to favor their applications by now. The real issue is simply that ICANN is a highly bureaucratic organization; they don't do anything quickly. They only published a report on the outcome of the 2012 gTLD offering last year.