Iowa Casino Plans to Launch a New Sportsbook

It looks like the Catfish Bend Casino in Burlington, Iowa is setting everything up to launch a new sportsbook in this state soon.

Even though sports betting still isn’t legal in the state, this casino wants to be among the first ones to jump on the bandwagon as soon as lawmakers officially sign a sports betting bill.

And that’s not all!

The Iowa State’s Racing and Gaming Commission (RGC) has announced that it will actually review the plan of this casino, along with its two construction and operation contracts.

Construction of the Sportsbook

Local media revealed that RGC will go through a contract on overseeing the construction of the sportsbook venue.

The construction itself will be led by DesignWise, which is an interior design and services company from Minnesota. This company is actively working with both commercial and hospitality industries.

The Iowa commission will also review the second, separate contract that would see PointsBet to help this sportsbook with the management of sports betting activities.

This gambling operator from Australia is already actively operating in New Jersey and is, at the moment, on the hunt to expand across other US states.

Sports Betting in Iowa

Iowa is currently one more state among a growing number of them that are looking to regulate sports betting under their jurisdiction. The lawmakers from this state have been going through sports wagering bills in the past few months.

There have been introduced separate, but quite similar bills and the Senate version has been actually more successful. About two weeks ago, it gained from the Senate Ways and Means subcommittee…

…and is now waiting for approval by the full committee.

If it gets approved, then the bill will be identical to the House version. This way, the bills will have the opportunity to get combined and possibly approved much quicker.

More Details on the Bill

So, if this Iowa sports betting bill gets all needed political approvals, then both online and in-person sports wagering will be legalized in this state.

According to the bill, annual gross revenue from sports betting activity would be taxed at 6.75%.

Since the legislative session will end on May 3, lawmakers have less than a month to decide on this bill and the future of sports gambling in the state of Iowa.

So, What is Left to Do?

Well, the bill has to get the approval from both chambers before being sent to Governor, Kim Reynolds, for ultimate approval.

The Governor has already stated that she certainly s sports gambling legislation in order to be able to regulate the industry in her state.

“I think the momentum is on our side. I know it’s a priority among leadership of both chambers to get this done. I’m shepherding it through and making the changes I have to make. I’m very confident in getting this done and think we have the wind at our backs,” the author of the House Bill 648, Representative Bobby Kaufman commented.

Source:

“Iowa regulator wants closer look at Catfish Bend’s sports gambling plan”, Erik Gibbs, calvinayre.com, April 15, 2019.