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October wasn’t a great month for the Iowa casino industry. Adjusted gaming revenue (AGR) that Iowa casinos generated from slots, table games and poker was $136.31 million.
The figure is down 5.50% compared to September’s $144 million and a 6.48% yearly drop. Here’s how the October revenue number compares to previous months:
- July: $150.04 million
- August: $143.16 million
- September: $144.25 million
Despite the lower casino numbers, Iowans have never placed more money on sporting events in October.
Prairie Meadows Racetrack and Casino remains on top with over $19M
According to the latest data from the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission (IRGC), casino revenue declines occurred across all three major categories in October:
- Slot machine revenue: $123.55 million (a 4.52% monthly drop from $129.40 million)
- Table game revenue: $12.76 million (a monthly decrease of 14.04% from September’s $14.84 million)
- State tax revenue: $26.74 million (a 5.72% monthly decline from $28.36 million)
As the IRGC’s October gaming report shows, the top five out of 19 Iowa casinos for slots and table game revenue in October were:
- Prairie Meadows Racetrack and Casino: $19,001,945
- Ameristar II: $14,456,051
- Horseshoe Casino Council Bluffs: $13,893,924
- Riverside Casino and Golf Resort: $10,378,992
- Rhythm City Casino: $8,823,899
Regardless of the industry decline, two Iowa casinos – Catfish Bend Casino and Riverside Casino and Golf Resort – managed to report monthly revenue increases.
Sports betting handle up monthly and yearly in October
Throughout October, Iowa’s sports betting handle was $255.29 million. Since Iowans love to bet online, most of that money comes from mobile bets:
- $231.79 million was gambled through online sportsbooks
- $23.50 million accounted for betting handle coming through retail sportsbooks
The total handle figure represents a 6.91% yearly increase from October 2022 and a 3.88% monthly rise compared to September’s $245.76 million.
Iowa’s sports betting revenue reached $24.19 million in October. The figure is a 26.40% rise from the same time last year. And despite almost $9.5 million more bets, revenue only showed a 1.0% increase from Iowa’s September revenue.
Sports betting tax for October was $1.64 million, similar to September, with less than a 1% drop from October 2022’s $1.72 million.
