Sam Bentham, Special to CDC Gaming
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Numbers show a significant drop in Iowa casino revenues year-on-year, with the more than $131 million collected in September, representing an 8.9 percent drop over the same month last year, according to the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission, but the September sports betting handle of more than $270 million in the report was a 10.2 percent increase from September 2023.Story continues below
The latest casino revenues also dropped month-on-month from August and are the lowest for the state since January. Meanwhile, operators walked away from this sports betting handle with revenues of more than $27 million. The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission collected more than $1.8 million in taxes from these revenues. Iowa casinos contributed more than $25 million to state taxes.
Casinos in Iowa are a hot topic thanks to the proposal of a new casino in Cedar Rapids, Iowa’s second-largest settlement. Casinos operating in Iowa have opposed the proposition, suggesting it could affect revenues for as many as five casinos within a 75-mile radius of Cedar Rapids.
However, the proposition has received support from local non-profit organizations, with the proposed Cedar Rapids casino agreeing to donate 8 percent of its proceeds to these local non-profits.
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