Last updated on January 25th, 2025 at 07:52 pm
The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission scheduled a meeting on February 6 to discuss the proposed Cedar Rapids casino. However, lawmakers introduced new casino moratorium bills on Thursday that would suspend the issuance of new casino licenses for five years.
Representative Bobby Kaufmann (R-Wilton) filed House Study Bill 80, which would impose a ban retroactively from January 1, 2025, through June 30, 2030. Also, it establishes new guidelines for the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission, which regulates gaming facilities. The commission will no longer grant gambling licenses to new establishments if doing so would harm the adjusted gross revenues of current casinos exceeding 10%. The measure would make it illegal for another applicant in the same county to seek a license for eight years after a panel declined their application. Thus, no new preferred casinos will be in Cedar Rapids for the next few years.
This measure was introduced weeks before the Cedar Rapids Gaming Commission decided on the $275 million Cedar Crossing Casino and Entertainment Center proposal. Once the prior casino prohibition ended on June 30, 2024, the Cedar Rapids project proceeded swiftly. In the last hours of the 2024 session, Kaufmann moved to impose a moratorium, but the Senate never even considered it.
New Casino Moratorium Bills in Iowa
Kaufmann informed reporters that he intends to have the bill approved before the commission meeting. He plans to introduce the measure to the House Ways and Means Committee next week when a subcommittee meets on Monday to discuss it.
Kaufmann expressed optimism that the casino moratorium bill, which did not receive a hearing in the Senate last year, will be heard and passed during the upcoming Feb. 6 meeting, which will further increase the pressure on the Senate to move swiftly.
Legislators voiced concerns about the potential impact on current casinos when considering the approval of more casinos in the state, particularly in Cedar Rapids. The commission rejected the plans to build a casino in Cedar Rapids twice in 2014 and 2017. The reasoning was that the projects would dilute the current casino earnings in Waterloo, Riverside, and Dubuque rather than increase state income. However, there are no talks about how to become a bookie in the state.
Proposed Cedar Rapids Casino
According to recent research, the Cedar Rapids casino would divert considerable money from already-established casinos. Competition from Cedar Crossing Casino might lead Riverside Golf & Casino Resort to lose as much as 26% of its income, or $34 million, by 2029, according to research commissioned by the IRGC and conducted by Marquette Advisors. Isle Casino in Waterloo was estimated to lose $8.8 million, while Meskwaki Bingo Casino Hotel will lose $14.1 million.
According to the Innovation Group’s projections, studies found that the Cedar Rapids casino could potentially increase funding for commercial gaming in the state by $60 million. Cedar Rapids Democrat Rep. Sami Scheetz acknowledged that cannibalization will happen but argued that lawmakers should focus on the casino’s potential boost to gaming revenues rather than its adverse effects. His main point was that competing with casinos in other states and attracting gambling tourists should be the top priorities.
Scheetz pleaded with the Legislature to stay out of the commission’s decision-making process, saying that Cedar Rapids should have an equal opportunity to provide its proposal.
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