Cedar Rapids Casino Backers Say ‘More Is More’ Despite Cannibalization Concerns

Posted on: January 28, 2025, 08:29h. 

Last updated on: January 28, 2025, 08:59h.

A Cedar Rapids casino would generate gaming revenue of $116.5 million to $118 million in its first full year of operation. While much of that forecasted play would come at the expense of existing riverboats and brick-and-mortar gaming floors, the team behind the proposed $275 million Cedar Crossing Casino project says the facility would nonetheless increase the state’s gaming tax benefit and provide more funds for charitable purposes.

Cedar Rapids casino Iowa gambling
A rendering of the proposed Cedar Crossing Casino in Iowa’s Cedar Rapids that’s causing much division among state lawmakers in Des Moines. Legislation to prohibit new gaming licenses from being issued is making progress in the capital. (Image: Cedar Rapids Development Group)

The Linn County Gaming Association is the charitable arm of the Cedar Crossing Casino. The Cedar Rapids Development Group, a consortium of about 80 local businesspeople and Los Angeles-based Peninsula Pacific Entertainment, has pledged to direct 8% of the casino’s gross gaming revenue (GGR) to nonprofits—considerably higher than the state-mandated 3%.

That 8% would go to the Linn County Gaming Association, a nonprofit that would distribute the money to deserving charities and organizations in the area. Though some casinos currently operating in Iowa would likely be negatively impacted by a gaming option in Cedar Rapids, Anne Parmley, president of the Linn County Gaming Association, says the destination would overall increase state GGR and therefore improve contributions for charitable purposes.

By any of the recent impact studies, the total number of dollars will increase by over $4 million a year,” Parmley told lawmakers sitting on the House Ways and Means Committee on Monday. “More is more, and more to our nonprofits is a good thing.”

Parmley’s testimony came as the committee considered legislation to reimplement a moratorium preventing the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission (IRGC) from issuing additional casino licenses.

Iowa Casino Moratorium Advances 

Despite Parmley and other representatives from the Cedar Rapids Development Group pleading their opinions that a Cedar Rapids casino would be a net positive, the House committee advanced House Study Bill 80 by a 17-8 vote.

Iowa Rep. Bobby Kaufmann (R-Cedar County) is behind the legislation that seeks to impose a five-year moratorium on new gaming concessions. The bill would also implement a clause come July 1, 2030, barring the state gaming agency from approving new casino applications when market impact studies suggest the property would negatively impact annual GGR at a current gaming facility by more than 10%.

If passed and signed by Gov. Kim Reynolds (R), Kaufmann’s statute would be retroactive to Jan. 1, 2025. That means even if the IRGC signs off on the Cedar Crossing Casino bid during its February 6 meeting, as a vote on the project is expected, if House Study Bill 80 becomes law, the agency’s consideration is much ado about nothing. 

Cedar Rapids Lawmaker Opposes Moratorium 

Kaufmann and other state lawmakers backing the moratorium, many of who come from areas with current casinos, say a Cedar Rapids casino would lead to job layoffs at the existing resorts. Rep. Sami Scheetz (D-Cedar Rapids) says the gaming commission — not politicians — is best equipped to determine if Iowa’s gaming industry has indeed reached a saturation point.

Our job as state legislators is to look at this holistically, look at the overall market, and let the Racing and Gaming Commission do its job,” Scheetz said. “They look at all these criteria. They are experts who don’t have political biases. We do in this chamber. Let the Racing and Gaming Commission do its job.”

Scheetz, one of the eight nay votes, added that it’s “time for some competition.”