Photo courtesy of Elite Casinos

The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission met Thursday to review economic studies on how building a casino in Cedar Rapids could impact neighboring casinos, including Riverside Casino & Golf Resort.

In 2014 and 2017, the commission denied granting Linn County a license to open a casino. Spectrum Gaming Group in collaboration with Strategic Economics Group and The Innovation Group each conducted studies for the IRGC to review. Based on the estimated Cedar Rapids gaming market and overlap with other gaming markets, it appears that Cedar Rapids is well served by the Riverside and Waterloo casinos. Like previous studies presented, Spectrum states that adding a casino to Cedar Rapids holds the prospect of cannibalizing these two casinos significantly. As a part of the Innovation study, the IRGC was presented with the Gravity Model Forecast for 2024 with the addition of a Cedar Rapids casino. Based on the data, Riverside and Waterloo casinos are projected to be hit the hardest with the statewide gaming revenue at existing casinos estimated to decline by $61 million. With the addition of the Cedar Rapids casino, statewide commercial gaming revenue in Iowa is estimated to increase by $51 million. No action was taken during the meeting as Cedar Rapids would need to find a developer before being granted a gaming license. Last November a Linn County ballot measure to allow a gambling facility passed by 55%. This referendum was first passed in 2013, and must be passed twice and eight years apart to allow gambling permanently, per state statute.