KWWL Special Report: Casino gaming on the rise in Iowa

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According to the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission, 2018 was the best revenue year for casinos in six years, raking in about $1.5 billion. Administrator for the commission, Brian Ohorilko, says revenue has been on the rise since the recession.no deposit bonus

“2013 was a special time, in that the economy was really good and then we did go through the recession. Since that recession, we’ve had kind of a natural, steady growth again.”The Diamond Jo Casino in Dubuque has seen that growth to be true. The gaming facility raked in about $70 million last year. Wendy Runde, general manager of the Diamond Jo Casino, says their business continues to see that growth.

“At the Diamond Jo, specifically, we’ve experienced steady gaming revenue growth over the past several years and 2018 was another great year.”Iowa’s good economy contributes to this revenue growth. Iowa’s unemployment rate is one of the lowest in the U.S at 2.5%, with Iowans making nearly 5.5% more than they did three years ago.

University of Dubuque economic professor, Eric Munshower, says with Iowa’s unemployment rate so low, people are spending more on leisure activities.

“Household leisure income is going up. We have more money that is disposable to spend.”

He says people will generally spend money on necessities no matter what they earn, but as earnings go up, more is spent on non-necessities.

“Food being the most obvious, housing, that are going to be consumed regardless, or very close to, regardless of the income level. There’s another category of goods we would consider consumer goods, which we consider leisure goods, which consumption increases as the income levels go up.”