The two tribal casinos in Northwest Iowa hoped to have sportsbooks in operation by now. But details and then the coronavirus have bogged the process down. Governor Kim Reynolds closed casinos on March 17.
Last summer, WinnaVegas Casino & Resort, owned and operated by the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska near Sloan, was eyeing a mid-September start for its sports betting. Blackbird Bend Casino, owned and operated by the Omaha Tribe near Onawa, saw mid-October as a launch date.
Reynolds signed a sports betting law in May 2019 and the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission approved casino application rules in late July. Several opened up a month later. As tribal casinos, Blackbird Bend and WinnaVegas went through a different process than the 19 Iowa casinos regulated by the IRGC, according to the Sioux City Journal.
“It is still in the works, pending additional legal review of the contracts. The current suspension of professional and college sports and all of the uncertainty that the COVID-19 pandemic has evoked gives us further pause in the process, of making sure we develop the best possible sports betting options for our guests,” Blackbird Bend Spokesman Mike Krysl said.
While Blackbird Bend had a successful 2019, the closure in 2020 has had “a chilling, jarring impact,” Krysl said.
WinnaVegas Spokesman Michael Michaud said the timing is uncertain.
“We are working with the National Indian Gaming Association to implement sports betting in the future, so there is no timeline as of yet,” he said.
