The Iowa Racing and Gambling Commission has raised concerns a bill passed by the state legislature setting a two-year moratorium on new casino approvals would introduce politics into Iowa’s gambling operations.
It says it will wait to see if Iowa governor Kim Reynolds signs the bill before deciding whether it can accept an application for a casino in Linn County.
Reynolds has not publicly indicated whether she will sign the bill. She has 30 days from the legislative session to review bills with her staff and make a decision.
The commission’s administrator Brian Ohorilko said “At least at this point, it’ll be difficult to do much in terms of moving forward with an application process and until that moratorium is out, if indeed that bill goes into law.”
Commissioner Daryl Olsen said commissioners were “surprised” and “disappointed” with the moratorium.
Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, who chairs the House State Government Committee, said the objective of the moratorium is to preserve an “equilibrium” in the number of casinos.
Kaufmann said he’s concerned that with 19 state-licensed casinos, and 23 casinos in total, Iowa’s gambling market was saturated, which he fears could impact on casinos’ donations to local nonprofits.
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