Iowa may soon get another retail casino, but there are concerns that the proposed Cedar Crossing Casino could cannibalize up to $28 million in revenue from existing casinos in the area. However, the $275 million gaming facility will generate a total of $108 million in adjusted gaming revenue (AGR), resulting in $80.2 million in new revenue for Iowa to tax in 2029.
The casino would take two years to build. That and the 2029 AGR estimate are among the data provided by Cedar Rapids Development Group (CRDG) in its license application. Iowa’s moratorium on gambling expansion ended on July 1, allowing new proposals to move forward.
On Sept. 16, the CRDG’s 149-page-long application officially became the only submission to the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission (IRGC).
The regulator has a web page titled Linn County Application Process dedicated to the details about what may be Iowa’s 20th commercial casino license. Cedar Rapids is in Linn County.
Perhaps the most important date listed on the page is Feb. 6, 2025, when the commission will vote on the casino application.
Iowa also houses four tribal casinos.
Both casino categories were listed in the application as possibly losing revenue to Cedar Crossing Casino and Entertainment Center.
The CRDG application included research from the Convergence Strategy Group (CSG) that found the following possible cannibalization in 2029:
- Riverside: -11.6%, or $16.6 million
- Meskwaki Bingo Casino: -7.7%, or approximately $9.4 million
- Isle Waterloo: -5.8%, or $6.2 million
- Dubuque casinos (combined): -3.6%, or $5 million
That tally means Cedar Crossing Casino may pull $37 million in revenue away from those casinos. However, CSG deleted Meskwaki Bingo Casino Hotel‘s $9.4 million estimate, because the tribal gaming facility doesn’t publicly report its income.
Hence, CSG estimates Cedar Crossing Casino may cannibalize $28 million in AGR from existing Iowa casinos.
Iowa’s current 19 commercial casinos generated $1.95 billion in gross gaming revenue (GGR) in 2023, according to the nonprofit gambling trade group American Gaming Association (AGA).
Cedar Crossing Casino May Need to Hurry
State Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, R-Wilton, opposed ending Iowa’s moratorium on commercial casino construction. He was worried that the Cedar Crossing Casino might cannibalize the revenue of existing casinos.
So, Kaufmann said he will introduce a bill in 2025 to reinstate the moratorium.
Meanwhile, he doubts lawmakers will approve a measure to create legal Iowa online casinos. Kaufmann sponsored the 2024 bill that failed and he told Bonus in a May 7 interview that he doubts 2025 will bode well for iGaming, either. Representatives of land-based casinos opposed Kaufmann’s iGaming bill based on similar cannibalization fears.
Seemingly feeling urgency, Peninsula Pacific Entertainment (P2E) announced on June 26 — before the moratorium expired — that it and the Linn County Gaming Association (LCGA) would jointly apply for the gaming license.
On the gaming application, CRDG is listed as the casino operator. P2E Founder and Chairman Brent Stevens signed for the CRDG operator on July 15, the license application shows.
On July 24, LCGA Board President Anne Parmley signed the application as a “qualified sponsoring organization agent.”
In the June 26 announcement, P2E Board Member Jonathan Swain said:
The time is now for Cedar Crossing. Linn County residents have overwhelmingly passed two gaming referendums and they have been patient. … We look forward to bringing an unprecedented casino gaming and entertainment destination to Cedar Rapids.
On Sept. 18, two days after all gaming license applications were due, CRDG had the only submitted proposal.
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