IOWA HOUSE, ON 68-31 VOTE, APPROVES MORATORIUM ON NEW CASINOS

Iowa House, on 68-31 vote, approves moratorium on new casinos

By O. Kay Henderson (Radio Iowa)

A five-year moratorium on new casinos in Iowa has passed the Iowa House this afternoon and the same proposal has been approved by a committee in the Senate.

If the bill becomes law by early next Thursday morning, it will block state regulators from considering the application for a new casino in Cedar Rapids. The Racing and Gaming Commission is scheduled to vote on the Cedar Crossing Casino project on February 6.

During remarks on the bill in the House today, Republican Representative Bobby Kaufmann of Wilton pointed to recent studies suggesting a Cedar Rapids casino would draw customers — and revenue — from currently operating casinos.

“I think the cannibalism is very real,” Kaufmann said. “…I think a ruling of this significance should have us electeds’ involvement.”

Senator Scott Webster, a Republican from Bettendorf, guided the bill that would block a Cedar Rapids casino through the Senate Local Government Committee today.

“When the report came out and I believe it said 58% of the revenue of a new casino in that area would be a cannibalization of other casinos in the area, it’s a concerning issue,” Webster said.

it took just 11 minutes for the House to debate and pass the moratorium this afternoon. Representative Sami Scheetz, a Democrat from Cedar Rapids, saod the legislature should let the Racing and Gaming Commission make the call.

“It shouldn’t be our job, the second of third week of session, to be protecting existing casino operators,” Scheetz said.

Representative Amie Wichtendahl, a Democrat from Marion, said Linn County voters approved a gambling referendum in 2021 and the legislature shouldn’t interfere in the process set up to consider the application for a casino license.

“Let the chips fall where they may. Let not this government be in the business of micromanaging the local economy,” Wichtendahl said. ” The voters in the market have spoken and I humbly ask you to listen to their voices.”

Senator Dawn Driscoll, a Republican from Williamsburg, voted for the moratorium in committee today, She’s the state senator who represents Riverside, which has had a casino since 2006. “And I’m here to fight for the people that have worked there, our rural communities and the businesses that are around that.”

Senator Herman Quirmbach, a Democrat from Ames, opposed the moratorium. He said it limits competition in Iowa’s gambling market. “If you have a restaurant on Main Street in your hometown, well another restauranteur comes along and wants to open a second restaurant, they’re not prohibited from doing that,” Quirmbach said.

There’s been no announcement yet from GOP leaders on a potential vote in the 50-member senate on the casino moratorium bill.

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