In Iowa, legislators introduced 10 study bills regarding sports betting at the start of the session. Now, as it winds down to a May 3 ending, two measures may make it over the finish lin. But one question remains: whether or not to allow betting on college sports—an unpopular provision among stakeholders, considering the popularity of college football and March Madness.
The Iowa Gaming Association, which represents the state’s 19 commercial casinos, as well as DraftKings and FanDuel support the measure, but proposed amendments could make its outcome uncertain. Bill sponsor state Rep. Bobby Kaufmann said, “Black-market betting is going on at a very large scale right now, and I think if you prohibit any particular bet from being considered, those people are just going to stay doing it in the black market.”
Besides betting on collegiate sports, some lawmakers reportedly want the legislation to ban in-play wagers on an individual athlete’s performance in collegiate and professional sports. The professional sports leagues support in-play wagers. “Those are all potential, additional forms of engagement for viewers,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said previously.
According to a lobbyist disclosure list provided by the state, the Board of Regents, which oversees the University of Iowa, Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa have taken a neutral position on sports betting; in other words, they did not oppose the sports wagering legislation. But a February poll of 803 Iowa adults, conducted by the Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa, indicated only 25 percent of Iowans support legalizing college sports wagering and 68 oppose it. Betting on professional sports was approved by 40 percent with 52 percent opposed.
The sports betting legislation, which would allow in-person and mobile betting plus remote account registration, would tax sports wagering revenue at 6.75 percent. As a result, according to a 2017 Oxford Economic study, Iowa could take in more than $4 billion in annual sports betting handle, which could generate $250 million in taxable sports wagering revenue. However, if betting on collegiate sports wasn’t allowed, those figures would drop dramatically.
In the Iowa Senate, state Senator Roby Smith introduced a companion sports betting bill, SF 366. Both the House and Senate bills cleared committees before the March 8 deadline. Next they’ll go to their full chambers.
“Gambling bills are unique in that they are not traditionally partisan,” Kaufmann said. “There’s going to be hard-core ‘noes’ from Republicans and Democrats, and there will be ‘yeses’ from both.”
