Iowa Casino Revenue Falls 6.2% as Taxes Rise 2.5%

• Iowa’s 19 casinos reported $132.6 million in adjusted gross revenue for October, down 6.2% from $141.3 million a year earlier.
• State gaming taxes rose 2.5% to $27.2 million, or 20.5 cents per reported dollar against 18.8 cents in October 2025.
• Slot coin-in rose 3.4% to $1.34 billion while slot revenue fell 7.0%, so slots kept 8.91% of wagers against 9.90%.
• The commission has excluded promotional play from casino revenue since July 2026, so the year-ago figure was counted differently.

DES MOINES, Iowa – Iowa casino revenue fell 6.2% to $132.6 million in October 2026 across the state’s 19 casinos, while state gaming taxes rose 2.5% to $27.2 million, according to the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission’s October gaming revenue report. The commission stopped counting promotional play as casino revenue with its July report, so October 2025’s $141.3 million was reported under a different rule.

State Collected 20.5 Cents Per Reported Dollar

State gaming taxes totaled $27,198,498, up from $26,542,929 in October 2025. Adjusted gross revenue, the amount casinos keep after paying winnings, fell $8,695,533 to $132,633,786 from $141,329,319. That works out to 20.5 cents of state tax per reported dollar, against 18.8 cents a year earlier. The city, county, endowment fund and state miscellaneous fund lines in the report each rose 2.4%, even as revenue in Iowa’s legal gambling market fell.

Promotional play is wagering with tokens, chips or credits that a casino provides without an exchange of money. Under Senate File 619, enacted in 2021, the tax rate on promotional play counted as revenue stepped down each fiscal year, from five-sixths of the regular wagering tax in fiscal 2022 to one-sixth in fiscal 2026. Dropping it from the count therefore removes revenue faster than it removes tax.

Administrator Tina Eick said in the commission’s July release that “casino revenue numbers will look different from last year,” and that an overall decrease in casino revenue was not surprising.

Slots Kept 8.91% Of Wagers, A Gap Worth $13.3 Million

Slot revenue fell 7.0% to $118,983,899 from $127,931,348, a drop of $8,947,449 that is larger than the $8,695,533 decline in total revenue. Slot coin-in, the total amount wagered, rose 3.4% to $1,335,921,454 from $1,292,255,053. Slots kept 8.91% of that money, against 9.90% a year earlier.

At last October’s 9.90% rate, this October’s wagering would have produced about $132.3 million in slot revenue, $13.3 million more than the report shows. The added coin-in alone would have brought in about $4.3 million, so the lower share kept accounts for more than the whole decline.

The slide began with the July report, the first under the new rule. The commission’s monthly reports show slots keeping 9.87% in June, then 8.70% in July, 8.68% in August, 8.87% in September and 8.91% in October. The report does not say how much of the change reflects the exclusion of promotional play.

Tables Gained 1.9% As Admissions Fell 3.9%

Table revenue rose 1.9% to $13,649,887 from $13,397,971 on a 2.8% increase in table drop, the money converted to chips, to $64,056,461. Casinos kept 21.31% of the drop against 21.50% and ran 413 table games instead of 427.

Admissions fell 3.9% to 1,318,758 from 1,372,189, and casinos ran 13,675 slot machines against 13,879.

Four-Month Revenue Is Down 7.2% While Taxes Rise 1.1%

Through four months of fiscal 2027, adjusted gross revenue totals $528,314,305, down 7.2% from $569,056,300 in July through October 2025, according to the commission’s fiscal-year-to-date report and its monthly reports from last year. State gaming taxes total $100,372,330, up 1.1% from $99,261,427, and slot coin-in is up 3.9% to $5,434,833,014.

Revenue has fallen against the year before in each of the four months, by 6.0% in July, 13.1% in August, 2.6% in September and 6.2% in October.

Year-Over-Year Comparisons Stay Mismatched Until July 2027

The commission’s November report will be the fifth under the new rule. Each remaining month through June 2027 will be compared with a year-ago figure reported before the SF 619 phase-out ended, so year-over-year changes in Iowa gambling revenue will not be like for like until the July 2027 report.