Iowa state Rep. Bobby Kaufmann recently said he plans to hold the first hearing on sports betting legislation this week or soon after and have a bill ready by May. He stated unsuccessful efforts to legalize sports betting in the last session actually laid the groundwork for a better outcome this year. “I think the consensus has been building for years. I think one of the things that was preventing a bill from becoming law in years past was the fact that we knew that the Supreme Court ruling might come down and we didn’t want to preempt them and do something that would then be nullified by a potential ruling. The groundwork that was laid these last several years I think gives us a very good shot of getting this done this session,” Kaufman said.
Kaufmann said he’ll hold several subcommittee and committee hearings on sports betting legislation so lawmakers, the public and all stakeholders can participate. Among the issues to be considered are professional sports leagues’ desire for an integrity fee; if wagering should be allowed only on-site at casinos or also through mobile and online platforms; and if bets can be placed where lottery games are sold. Another issue will be taxation and where revenue would be directed, Kaufman said.
Some casinos already are preparing plans to open sports books if sports wagering legislation passes. For example, officials at Prairie Meadows Casino and Hotel in Altoona announced the casino has entered into a partnership with William Hill US to operate a casino sports book, and the casino is building an 8,600 square foot facility to house the operation.
Kaufman noted, “All gaming issues, which legalizing sports betting would be among those, comes through my committee. I’ve actually assigned the bill to myself. And a lot of Iowans are saying, ‘Hey, this is an underground black market that’s going on.’” He noted, “You’ve got some really strong conservative Republicans that don’t want to see an expansion of gambling, you’ve got folks that have more liberal leanings that think that gambling preys on the poor.”
But state Senator Zach Wahls commented, “It’s going to be a fairly nonpartisan issue. It’s not going to be about Democrat or Republican- it’s going to be about what concerns do you have as it pertains to your district. We want to make sure that this is done responsibly, and that it’s done in a way that is deliberate and thoughtful. Because once the cat’s out of the bag, it’s kind of hard to put it back in.”
State Rep. Mike Sexton added, “This will probably be the biggest gambling bill we’ve done in 20 years. It’s already happening, so we might as well legalize it so we can get control of it.” Sexton noted various interests already are trying to influence the sports wagering measure before seeing it. “People are already lining up to tweak their little piece of it or to get a bigger percentage or to take somebody else’s money,” he said.
