At a recent budget briefing, Iowa state Rep. Pat Grassley, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, stated the proposed Ponca Tribe of Nebraska casino in Carter Lake would take business from Ameristar, Harrah’s and Horseshoe in Council Bluffs, seven miles away. Grassley said the Ponca casino would not pay state or local taxes, whereas taxes from the three state-regulated casinos in Council Bluffs account for nearly one-third of the Rebuild Iowa Infrastructure Fund. “That’s something I’d like for us to keep in mind, that of $188 million, 29 percent of that comes from the casinos in southwest Iowa. So if we get another one down there what does that look like?” Grassley said.
The National Indian Gaming Commission and the U.S. Department of the Interior approved the Ponca Tribe’s casino plan in November. The city of Council Bluffs has sued to block the casino.
Grassley said gaming tax revenue, which funds the RIIF, has slowed significantly recently. In fiscal year 2017, growth was 0.6 percent, and the Revenue Estimating Conference projected growth at 1 percent for the current and next fiscal years.
