The Iowa on line casino moratorium blocking the state Racing and Gaming Fee from issuing new gaming licenses for a minimum of two years has obtained Governor Kim Reynolds’ (R) signature.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds indicators laws. One such invoice Reynolds signed not too long ago prohibits the Iowa Racing and Gaming Fee from issuing new on line casino licenses till July 2024. (Picture: AARP)
The Iowa Legislature final month despatched Home File 2497 to the governor’s desk. The gaming package deal primarily offers with regulatory issues, comparable to cashless wagering. However lawmakers slid in a caveat that prohibits new gaming concessions from being granted till a minimum of July 1, 2024.
Reynolds signed the laws with no public remark. The governor’s web site stated solely that she signed quite a few payments into regulation final Friday, June 17, with one being “an act referring to playing regulation and wagering.”
With HF 2497 now regulation, the Iowa Racing and Gaming Fee (IRGC) is barred from approving new on line casino licenses till July 2024. There are exceptions, nonetheless, together with the allowance for the IRGC to log off on present concessions in search of to relocate their operations to a brand new web site in the identical county.
The IRGC may approve the sale of a on line casino license to a different authorized firm, as long as the on line casino doesn’t bodily transfer. The state can moreover maintain a aggressive bidding alternative for a gaming license ought to a on line casino shutter and give up the privilege.
Cedar Rapids Expresses Grievances
The 2-year moratorium on new on line casino licenses was pushed by the Iowa gaming trade. The state’s 19 business riverboat and land-based casinos efficiently argued to Des Moines lawmakers {that a} steady and managed gaming market is required in wake of the pandemic and casinos being inbuilt neighboring Nebraska.
A renewed effort in Cedar Rapids from a bunch of native enterprise folks was as soon as once more lobbying for the state to permit its second-most populated metropolis to have a on line casino of its personal. The Cedar Rapids Improvement Group consists of roughly 80 buyers.
The collective growth agency was denied a on line casino license in 2014 and 2017, the IRGC on the time citing market saturation considerations for the denials. The Cedar Rapids Improvement Group was again on the negotiating desk in 2022, this time campaigning that its $250 million resort would profit native charities. The on line casino — dubbed “Cedar Crossing” — additionally pledged to construct a brand new flood wall on the west facet of the Cedar River.
Cedar Rapids Mayor Tiffany O’Donnell, wrote Reynolds in early June asking her to veto the two-year on line casino moratorium element of HF 2497. O’Donnell stated this week that the governor relayed that she believes a brief halting of the state gaming trade will higher enable for a research to be carried out on the impression a Cedar Rapids on line casino would have on the general market.
Cashless Wagering Expands
Iowa is the newest state to allow cashless playing on its on line casino flooring. HF 2497 eliminates the necessity for patrons to own chilly laborious money as a way to play a slot machine, make a wager on a desk recreation, or stake a sports activities consequence.
With the invoice now regulation, Iowa casinos are allowed to supply digital wallets to their clients that may be totally funded over the web. Iowa joins Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Ohio in permitting cashless betting on its licensed on line casino flooring.
