FILE – In this Feb. 14, 2019, file photo, patrons play the slots at the Ponca Tribe’s Prairie Flower Casino in Carter Lake, Iowa. On Monday, Aug. 12, 2019, the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska has again scored a legal win in its fight to keep its Prairie Flower Casino in western Iowa open after a federal judge rejected motions by the states of Iowa and Nebraska and the Iowa city of Council Bluffs seeking to derail the casino. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik, File)

(Radio Iowa) State Racing and Gaming administrator, Brian Ohorilko, says the amount of revenue at the state’s traditional casinos went against the recent trend in December.

“We did see for the first time in quite some time the month of December year over year we had seen a decline in revenue,” Ohorilko says. The gross revenue in December was down by more than five million dollars.

“So maybe they’re starting to see some signs of softening with casino revenue here in this state — and so that will be important to kind of watch,” he says. The drop in the December 2022 revenue comes halfway through this new fiscal year, and Ohorilko says things had been holding pretty steady.

“Up until that point, numbers have been strong and we’re actually seeing increases year over year from a record year the year before,” Ohorilko says. Ohorilko says the weather can have a big impact on casinos, especially when there’s poor weather on Fridays and through the weekend. The Catfish Bend, Isle of Capri Bettendorf, Prairie Meadows, Riverside and Wild Rose in Clinton each saw small increases in December compared to December of 2021. All of the other casinos saw a drop in gross revenue.