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Nationwide, state-sanctioned gambling (which does not include tribal casinos) saw a revenue decline of 2.6 percent last year, the first decline on record for at least three decades, according to a report by the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute. South Dakota saw a slightly larger drop of 3.8 percent.
South Dakota is one of only 12 states in the country that allows casino gambling outside of tribal casinos, though revenues are small in size, at about $8 million. Still, it was also one of only three states that saw growth in (nontribal) casino revenues, with an increase of about 1 percent. On the flip side, the state saw state lottery revenue drop more than 4 percent to $118 million.
South Dakota currently ranks seventh highest in gambling revenue per resident, at $230. Some of that money might be leaking across the southern border, however. A planned casino in neighboring Iowa recently upped its own ante when it decided to increase the size of its project, boosting its cost from $90 million to $110 million.Ron Wirtz is a Minneapolis Fed regional outreach director. Ron tracks current business conditions, with a focus on employment and wages, construction, real estate, consumer spending, and tourism. In this role, he networks with businesses in the Bank’s six-state region and gives frequent speeches on economic conditions. Follow him on Twitter @RonWirtz.
