Iowa casino revenue sees slight decrease to $1.72B in fiscal 2024 but sports betting hits record of $2.6B

Iowa's 19 statewide casinos reported a slight decrease in attendance and revenue for the second consecutive year, according to state gaming data. However, legal sports betting hit a new record in fiscal 2024. Combined, that translates into bettors wagering over $11.8 million a day on average at state-licensed casinos and sportsbooks.  

Statewide casino revenue dipped slightly to $1.76 billion in the 2023 state budget year and to $1.72 billion in fiscal 2024, or an average of nearly $4.7 million a day, according to the Legislative Services Agency. Moreover, attendance at the 19 casinos also has fallen over the same period. After dipping early in the pandemic, statewide admissions rebounded to 17.5 million in fiscal 2022. But that number fell to 17.1 million in 2023 and 16.9 million in 2024. 

With two years of regression in both revenue and admissions, industry experts point to multiple potential factors but also agree that it is not time to sound the alarm, especially since revenue remains above pre-pandemic levels. While statewide revenue dipped slightly to $1.72 billion in the 2024 budget year, that’s still well above the previous highs of roughly $1.46 billion in 2018 and 2019.

Additionally, the statewide revenue drops that followed the spike were minimal as a share of overall revenue. The drop from 2022 to 2023 was just 0.6 percent, and the drop from 2023 to 2024 was 1.8 percent. 

"When we look at fiscal year 2022, that’s a great year. In fact, it’s an all-time, record-breaking year. So I would say it’s hard to hold all other years to that standard," said Tina Eick, administrator of the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission. "We are seeing maybe more of a rightsizing or reversion to the market that we were seeing before."

The addition of casino gaming in Nebraska could be playing an outsize role in Iowa’s latest statewide numbers. The Horseshoe Casino in Council Bluffs has seen the biggest drop in revenue over the past three years, according to figures from the commission. The casino's adjusted gross revenue was $212 million in the 2022 state budget year, according to the figures. That fell to $205 million in fiscal 2023 and to $187 million in fiscal 2024.

Wes Ehrecke

Wes Ehrecke, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Iowa Gaming Association, commented: "We’re facing some competition in some other states. Nebraska has gaming that’s coming on for the first time. Anytime a new casino opens, everybody wants to go and check out the new facility."

Eherecke also believes that casino attendance and gaming can be impacted by the economy, as the basic cost of living increases driven by inflation may have kept some people away from Iowa casinos over the past two years.

Legal sports betting in Iowa similarly spiked in the 2022 state budget year: statewide sports wagering handle more than doubled from $1.2 billion in 2021 to $2.5 billion in 2022, according to regulators’ figures. But while that figure dipped just a bit in 2023, to $2.2 billion, it rebounded to a new high of $2.6 billion in fiscal 2024. That comes to an average of more than $7 million per day.

It is still unclear whether the latest figures will impact the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission’s pending ruling on a new license for a casino in Cedar Rapids. 

The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission in August selected two vendors to complete a market study on the potential impacts of a new casino in Cedar Rapids. Those studies are due at the end of December and will be publicly presented at the commission’s January meeting.