In Iowa, House Study Bill 198, legalizing sports betting and daily fantasy sports, recently passed the House State Government Committee in a 13-10 vote. Earlier, the Senate passed a companion bill, Senate Study Bill 1168, in an 8-6 vote. Both measures, now headed to each chamber’s Ways and Means Committee, would allow sports betting in person at the state’s 19 riverboat casinos, racetracks and “gambling structures” and online. The Senate bill requires players to register in person for a sports betting account, but only for the first 18 months. Sports betting would be regulated by the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission.
The House proposal would tax sports betting and DFS revenue at 6.75 percent, with annual operator licensing fees of $15,000 for sports betting and $5,000 for fantasy sports. Senate leaders said they’ll add tax rates and license fees later.
State Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, chairman of the House State Government Committee, said the bill should not be viewed as an expansion of gambling, since the activity is already taking place illegally. He said the measure would allow the state to regulate and tax the sports betting.
State Senator Roby Smith, chairman of the Senate State Government said he hopes to move the bill through Ways and Means in mid-March to present it to the full Senate in April. The Iowa legislative session ends May 3. Smith said, “The plan was to get them through this first funnel, and now they are live until the end of the session. We’ll continue to work on these for the month of March, continue to work with stakeholders, colleagues and citizens and then get it passed through the floor.”
