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Reinvesting in Iowa

$1 Billion Annual Economic Impact

Iowa’s casinos create a $1 billion annual economic impact, including employee salaries, purchasing Iowa-based products and services, charitable contributions, and taxes. Viable part of Iowa’s economy, part of gaming and entertainment sectors.

These monies help infrastructure, tourism, environmental conservation, cultural attractions and other projects throughout the state. Whether giving Iowa-owned vendors a chance to bid competitively, helping to conserve Iowa’s precious natural resources, or embarking on other worthy projects, our state gaming culture is more than slots and cards. It’s about giving back, investing in the future, and supporting communities.

GIVING BACK

Gaming BUILDS Communities Through Philanthropy

The latest Building Communities Through Philanthropy annual report of grantmaking highlights how using a portion of gaming tax revenue results in tremendous benefits and impact. Thanks to the legislators’ vision more than 15 years ago, the 2022-2023 comprehensive report is impressive and shows the impact of the county endowment fund program grants and casino grantmaking.

Grantmaking activities support each of Iowa’s 99 counties and catalyze significant philanthropic and public-private partnerships. These grants support various needs in Iowa communities, including human services, education, health, the arts, the environment, and community/public benefit.

Building Iowa’s Communities Through Philanthropy

Past Annual Reports

Charitable Giving

Iowa’s commercial casinos benefit worthy organizations in all 99 Iowa counties. Whether a county is home to a commercial casino or not, it can apply for grants through qualified charitable organizations.

GAMING COUNTIES

Each of the 19 commercial casinos in 15 Iowa counties must share its license with a Qualified Sponsoring Organization or operate as a nonprofit entity. These nonprofit license holders receive a particular portion of their respective casino’s gaming revenue and annually reinvest in numerous charitable and civic needs. 

Check out the grant projects in detail in the “Building Iowa’s Communities Through Philanthropy” report.

NONGAMING COUNTIES:

County Endowment Fund

The County Endowment Fund Program distributes a percentage of the state’s gaming tax revenue to qualified community foundations in the 84 Iowa counties that do not hold a state-issued gaming license. Each county’s community foundation distributes 75% of those funds to charitable projects within their counties; the remaining 25% is placed in a permanent endowment fund. The endowment fund is intended to attract other donations and provide a source of permanent funding for charitable projects within the county.

From 2021-2022, $10.7 million was distributed to 84 community foundations across the state, funding 1,838 grants. Through Iowa Community Foundations, counties have the resources to encourage and grow endowment funds that will provide charitable support to many causes both now and in the future.

View “Building Iowa’s Communities Through Philanthropy,” a collaborative summary by the Iowa Council of Foundations and the Iowa Gaming Association. The report showcases the charitable grants awarded to numerous worthy organizations because of commercial gaming revenue.

Jobs

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Employees

Nearly 6,800 employees of Iowa’s commercial casinos enjoy good benefits, opportunities for advancement and competitive salaries.

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Annual Payroll & Benefits

In 2022, Iowa’s commercial casinos had over $216 million in annual payroll.

Gaming Tax Revenue

State tax revenue funds significant projects, including community tourism, state park infrastructure, workforce training and development, construction projects, conservation efforts, and more.

Buy Iowa First

Last year, Iowa’s commercial casinos purchased $239 million of products and services from Iowa-based businesses. Plus, 87% of casinos’ total expenditure on products, supplies and services went to Iowa-based vendors.

Iowa Agriculture

Iowa’s commercial casinos support Iowa’s agricultural industry by purchasing millions of pounds of beef, chicken and turkey, thousands of gallons of milk, and several million eggs yearly.

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Contact us with any questions or concerns. Thank you for your interest in the site and the Iowa Gaming Association.