Iowa Governor Signs Sports Betting Bill into Law

Right after the House of Representatives approved an amended version of a sports betting bill at the very end of April…

…the state governor finally signed it on May 13 and turned it into law.

So since Iowa Governor, Kim Reynolds, signed Senate File 617, sports betting is from now on fully legalized in this Midwestern US state.

Thanks to her signature, Iowa has become the third US state to legalize sports betting this year, after Montana and Indiana.

On the other hand, the governor of Tennessee plans on letting the sports betting bill get approved without his signature.

More About the Bill

According to the Iowa bill, also referred to as Senate File 617, sports betting will be allowed at 19 land and water-based casinos and gaming facilities…

…as well through mobile devices.

So now, all that is left is to wait for the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission that has to make some additional changes to the bill.

But, government officials expect to officially launch regulated sports betting by fall, just in time for NFL season.

Revenue and Taxation

Speaking of financial parts of the sports gambling bill, taxation rate is quite reasonable and will come at 7.5%, where 6.5% comes from betting revenue and 0.75% will go to local charities.

Each licensed operator will have to pay an initial $45,000 and after that, there is an additional $10,000 renewal fee.

Also, the state officials have said that they expect from around $2.3 million to $4 million from sports betting each year.

Each sports betting operator that gains a license to work in Iowa will have the opportunity to operate two online betting ‘skins’…

…which provides room for online operators to make deals with local land-based casinos.

Deals Have Already Been Made

Some operators have already made potentially lucrative deals with Iowa casinos. William Hill has already made a deal back in January with Prairie Meadows Racetrack and Casino…

…while Pointsbet will be providing Iowa’s Catfish Bend Casino in Burlington with its services.

Even though Iowa only has around 3 million residents, the sports betting bill allows out-of-state customers to wager online. The only condition is to at Iowa’s casinos and play online only within Iowa’s borders.

But, nevertheless, the in-person registration requirement will expire in 2021.

One Year Anniversary

Iowa ed the club of eight US states that have legalized sports betting and it’s only been a year since the US Supreme Court decided to overturn the PASPA ban and allow sports betting in the country.

Many states are currently finishing the process of sports betting legalization, so who knows how many more states will jump on the bandwagon by next year.

Source:

“Iowa guv Kim Reynolds signs sports betting legislation”, Steven Stradbrooke, calvinayre.com, May 13, 2019.