Could Iowa Be On The Radar For Online Casino Legislation This Year?
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Iowa was one of the first states to launch legal online sportsbooks in August 2019. The state may be a dark horse candidate to legalize online gambling in 2022. Illinois legislators got their own proposed online casino legislation as far as a committee in 2021, but the bill didn't advance further.
Nebraska's racetracks are about to add retail casino gambling. Iowa hasn't yet approached the US online casino gaming starting gate.
The application from existing racetracks would probably be considered first. The rules have to be approved by the attorney general and the governor.
Evan Johnson is a fiscal legislative analyst with the Legislative Services Agency (LSA). LSA is nonpartisan legislative agency serving the Iowa Legislature.
There is no legislation introduced on that topic at the start of the new session.
Iowa's 3 million residents helped set a record for Hawkeye online sportsbook gross gaming revenue (GGR) in November. Operators who take bets at Iowa online Sportsbooks, including DraftKings, PointsBet and Unibet, already secured market access for their hypothetical online casinos. Legislators will be campaigning for reelection during summer and fall.
Ehrecke didn't return OPR's request for an update yesterday. For a large part of the country, online casinos aren't even up for discussion yet.
