SportsBettingInIowa.com

Iowa Grand Falls Casino To Provide Sports Betting Pending Legalization

Hasan Nabulsi — Mon, 29 Apr 2019 15:54:29 +0000

Governor Reynolds will decide if sports betting becomes legal in Iowa.
The Grand Falls Casino will offer sports betting if the state legalizes it.
The Casino is not expecting a large profit margin from potential sports betting.

DES MOINES – Residents in Iowa are on the verge of legal sports gambling for the state. The only thing standing in the way of legalization is if the Governor of Iowa signs the sports betting bill currently at her desk. The bill made its way through the House and Senate before landing at the governor’s desk for final approval.

If the governor does sign the sports betting bill, then Iowa will join the handful of other states with legal sports betting. In addition to other casinos in legalized states, The Grand Falls Casino and Golf Resort will offer up sports betting as well, if legalized.

The Grand Falls Casino offers slots and video poker, table games, poker, and much more. Next up on the list is adding sports betting, but there is no definite time when it will arrive. The state will still have to develop rules and regulations for the potentially newly legalized activity.

There are no high hopes on Grand Falls sports betting making large profits for the state, however. Sharon Haselhoff is the general manager at the Grand Falls Casino and golf resort. She believes there will be nothing new under the sun with the addition of legal sports betting in Iowa.

“It’s a way to bring something that’s already happening, just illegally, and bring it out into the open,” said Haselhoff.

July 4th is the soonest legal sports betting could arrive in Iowa after it goes through the administration process. Grand Falls Casino and Golf Resort’s sports betting addition could potentially be up and running mid-summer.

The post Iowa Grand Falls Casino To Provide Sports Betting Pending Legalization first appeared on SportsBettingInIowa.com.

Amendments Would Limit College In-Game Wagering In Iowa

Daniel Borjas — Fri, 22 Mar 2019 20:51:05 +0000

IA HF 648 would legalize sports betting in Iowa
The new amendment would prevent in-game betting on college athletes
Bettors can still bet on Iowa college games

DES MOINES, Iowa – A State House committee added amendments to sports betting bill on Wednesday that would limit in-game betting on individual college athletes.

The House committee was discussing IA HF 648 which would authorize and legalize sports betting in Iowa. During discussions, amendments were added that would limit in-game wagering. These amendments do not ban betting on Iowa college games nor does it ban in-game betting on professional athletes.

The Added Amendments

Iowa colleges sent representatives to talk with lawmakers about sports betting in the past. They were concerned that since students have classes on individual college athletes, they could bribe them to shave points so they can win their bets. The colleges said that this is a unique issue that is only specific for college athletes and not for professionals.

Representative Dave Jacoby (D) agreed with the concerns that the colleges had and decided to introduce the amendment to prevent the issue from happening. This was not the only amendment that was added to the bill.

The second amendment that was added is that it helped allocated where revenue from sports betting would go. The bill currently calls for a 6.25 percent tax on sports betting. A quarter of that money will go into gambling addiction prevention measures.

The last amendment is that the Prairie Meadows Casino will need to pay 11 percent of revenue of sports betting to the horse racing industry.

Lawmakers At Odds With Sports Betting

Sports betting has always been a bipartisan issue. There are republicans and democrats that either support expanding on sports betting or they do not. Representative Steven Holt (R) is one of the individuals who are against sports betting.

"This is my personal opinion: I do not support expansion of gambling because I think it’s harmful to families," said Holt. "And so, I have never since I’ve been here voted for a bill that expanded gambling."

However, lawmakers are keenly aware that sports betting in Iowa is already taking place. Representative Bobby Kaufmann (R) said that the state is wanting to regulate the existing sports betting that is already going on.

"We are not approving an expansion of gambling today," said Kaufmann. "We are choosing to not ignore an expansion that is here. We are choosing to police, regulate and tax something that's already here."

IA HF 648 passed the bill and it will continue to move forward through the House. The legislation is expected to meet more challenges and changes as different lawmakers weigh in with their opinion. It is unclear whether or not this bill will become law but there are lawmakers who are hopeful that it will.

The post Amendments Would Limit College In-Game Wagering In Iowa first appeared on SportsBettingInIowa.com.

Twin Bills Bring Iowa Closer To Legalizing Sports Betting

Daniel Borjas — Mon, 25 Feb 2019 20:49:15 +0000

DES MOINES, Iowa. – Two recently introduced sports betting bills passed in their respective committees last week and have the momentum to legalize wagering on sports in Iowa.

Bills Marching Forward

The Senate version is IA SB 1168. Even though it was introduced most recently, it is currently the closest piece of legislation to being passed. The other sports betting proposal is in the House is IA HB 198.

The House legislation has not yet passed the House State Government Committee, while the Senate bill passed its version of that committee with an 8-6 vote. The House committee will meet Monday and vote on IA HB 198.

Since the legislation from the Senate deals with implementing new taxes, the next step for the bill is to go through the Ways and Means Committee in both chambers of Congress. The House measure will also have to go through both of those committees if it passes the House Government Committee.

Some Oppose The Advancing Legislation

Faith-based group The Family Leader was present during the meetings and they shared their dissatisfaction about the sports betting bills. They believe that more people will become addicted to gambling if sports wagering is allowed to occur in the state.

Leagues were also present and they shared their concerns about the current proposals. They wanted to know what type of in-game bets would be allowed and also requested that casinos to buy the leagues data that would help them decide the bets. It is unlikely that Iowa’s Congress will give in to their demands because no state that has legal sports betting has done so thus far.

Even with the opposition from The Family Leader and current dissatisfaction from the sports leagues, both bills are advancing forward toward the path of legalizing sports betting in Iowa. Both still have a number of committees they need to go through before they will be voted on in the General Assembly.

The post Twin Bills Bring Iowa Closer To Legalizing Sports Betting first appeared on SportsBettingInIowa.com.

Iowa Sports Betting Bill To Be Discussed In Next Legislative Session

Hasan Nabulsi — Thu, 07 Feb 2019 20:46:16 +0000

As college football season comes to a close, fans in the state of Iowa have a lot to look forward to. Hawkeye fans are coming off a huge bowl win against a ranked SEC opponent, and Cyclone fans finished the season ranked third in the Big 12. Many sports fans in the state would bet that those teams will finish with a winning record again next season, and they may have a chance to do so sooner than they realize.

Second Time Around

Next week starts the beginning of Iowa’s 2019 legislative session. Democratic Senator Jeff Danielson plans on introducing a bill to legalize sports betting in Iowa and he’s not the only one supporting the push for it. He also believes that sports betting is a game of skill rather than a game of chance.

“It’s peer to peer. It’s the ability to collect information, analyze it, and trust your own judgment with some money on the line,” explained Danielson.

Last year house bill IA H 2448, a sports betting bill, would have legalized the activity inside the state’s horse racing tracks and casinos. The bill gained a lot of traction and support from both Democrats and Republicans. Although, it was too little too late because the legislature adjourned just a couple of weeks before PASPA was repealed by the US Supreme Court.

A New Iowa Sports Betting Plan

This year presents a new opportunity and plenty of time to work out the details of how to bring about this gaming expansion. As of now, lawmakers are planning on allowing sports betting in Iowa through the state’s casinos and mobile apps that are owned by the casinos. To use the mobile app players will have to physically sign in to ensure no underage wagers are placed. The types of sports allowed would be on both collegiate and professional level.

The plan would empower the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission to oversee rules and regulations, but they are not the only ones with a vested interest in this type of gaming expansion. Along with many legislators support, Wes Ehrecke, President of the Iowa Gaming Association, has also previously begun to show interest in bringing sports wagering to 19 of the state’s casinos.

“We believe many people are going to enjoy watching and betting on sports in a regulated and legal environment,” stated Ehrecke when asked about the potential Iowa sports betting industry.

Neighboring states Illinois and Missouri are also in the process of possibly legalizing sports gambling, so this could pressure lawmakers to act fast and get a head start on collecting tax revenue generated from sports betting in Iowa. With this in mind, we’ll be sure to keep an eye on any Iowa sports betting updates to come from this next session.

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