(Council Bluffs)– A casino marketing analyst says Iowa has plenty of room for more gambling.
Will Cummings, who has studied the state’s casino industry over the past decade, says the industry has tapped about half of its two billion dollar potential. Cummings, of Massachusetts-based Cummings Associates, presented the report Thursday to the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission in Council Bluffs.
State regulators are considering applications for ten new casinos in seven communities–Waterloo, Fort Dodge, Riverside, Ottumwa, Emmetsburg and rural Worth and Franklin counties.
Cummings estimated that if one casino is added in each of those seven communities, Iowa would have a net gain of about 250 million dollars a year in new casino revenues–but current casinos would see a drop in profits.
The commission is to vote next month on awarding new casino licenses.
(From the Associated Press.).
