Iowa gaming regulators introduced Monday that they need a market examine on how a on line casino resort in Cedar Rapids would affect the state’s business gaming trade.
An aerial view of the roughly 25-acre plot of land owned by the Metropolis of Cedar Rapids. The parcel has been entered right into a right-to-purchase settlement with an funding group that wishes to construct a on line casino there. (Picture: Google Maps)
Through the Iowa Racing and Gaming Fee’s (IRGC) Monday assembly on the Prairie Meadows On line casino and Lodge in Altoona, commissioners handed a movement to conduct a overview of permitting a on line casino in Linn County. The IRGC will quickly concern a request for proposals for the market examine report.
Within the interim, the IRGC will maintain a digital assembly this Friday to unveil a tough timeline for when the gaming regulator would possibly settle for functions for a on line casino in Linn County.
Moratorium Ends, Improvement Group Prepared
In 2022, the Iowa Legislature handed a invoice that prohibited the IRGC from issuing new on line casino licenses for 2 years. The moratorium got here after Iowa’s present 19 state-licensed casinos campaigned for a stoppage on further competitors as new casinos opened in neighboring Nebraska.
Home lawmakers earlier this yr voted to increase the on line casino moratorium by 5 years by way of June 2029, however the plan didn’t cross within the Senate. That was a significant win for the Cedar Rapids Improvement Group (CRDG), a consortium of largely native businesspeople who’ve sought a on line casino license for Cedar Rapids for greater than a decade.
CRDG is partnered with Peninsula Pacific Leisure (P2E) for a mission referred to as Cedar Crossing. The event is concentrating on 25 acres of land at the moment owned by the town simply north of Interstate 380, west of the Cedar River between F and I avenues and 1st and fifth streets.
CRDG has a right-to-purchase settlement with the town for the land ought to it achieve a on line casino license from the state. The event group final yr paid the town $165K for first dibs on the property. The promoting value will probably be based mostly on an impartial evaluation.
P2E President Jonathan Swain informed state commissioners this week that they’ve paid greater than $800K on design plans for Cedar Crossing. A brand new rendering will probably be accompanied by the group’s forthcoming on line casino software.
Referendum First
Iowa’s casinos proceed to emphasize that the state gaming trade has reached market saturation and that one other on line casino will additional pressure their operations, cut back state tax income, and put jobs in jeopardy. CRDG argues a on line casino in Iowa’s second-most populated metropolis would solely develop the state gaming trade and supply Iowans with a real Las Vegas expertise nearer to residence.
With the on line casino moratorium over, the IRGC can broaden the state gaming trade. The company denied on line casino functions for a Cedar Rapids on line casino in 2014 and 2017 on cannibalization worries. Nonetheless, the 5 IRGC members who voted towards the Cedar Rapids bids in these years are not serving on the fee.
Iowa’s on line casino legislation requires host counties to carry countywide referendums asking native voters in the event that they assist permitting a on line casino of their hometown.
Linn County held profitable on line casino referendums in 2013 and 2021. Because the county held two on line casino referendums inside eight years with constructive assist, a subsequent referendum to permit the IRGC to think about on line casino bids isn’t wanted.
Iowa’s gaming legislation moreover requires on line casino licenses to be held collectively by nonprofit organizations and their on line casino working companions.
The CRDG has fashioned the Linn County Gaming Affiliation, a nonprofit, that can bid for the Cedar Rapids license at the side of P2E. If authorized, the event group has pledged to allocate 8% of its annual gross gaming income to native and state charities.
Business casinos in Iowa should donate a minimal of three% of their gaming income to charity. The state tax on gross gaming income varies from 5% to 22%, based mostly on annual win.
