One thing outsiders probably don’t know about Iowa is that there are 19 casinos and legal sports betting is on its way.
Last week Governor Kim Reynolds signed legislation to allow sports gambling in the Hawkeye state. SF617 is the state legislation that lays out the groundwork for sports betting in the state. The context includes taxes, fees, penalties, effective date, and regulations regarding the new industry.
It has been only a little over a month since the bill was first introduced on April 8th, 2019. Here is what we know and what we don’t know.
- Sports betting will only be permitted to operate at the 19 Iowa casinos and other licensed national services including licensed racetracks.
- Sports betting will go into effect before the 2019 NFL football & NCAAF seasons, but an exact date has not been set.
- There will be no in-game proposition bets allowed on college sports.
- Sports betting will be regulated by the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission.
- Licensing will cost $45k with a $10k renewal fee each year.
- Iowa residents must be over the age of 21 to bet on professional and fantasy sports.
- Mobile Sports betting will be allowed
- An enforced blanket ban on high school, minor league, and amateur sports.
Iowians are still being left in the dark regarding several key details because certain aspects have not been agreed upon by commission.
Regardless of the fine details, Iowians can expect to be placing bets later this year. Several casinos are already preparing to offer legal sports betting by partnering up with other more notable sportsbooks.
Iowa joins many other state looking to legalize domestic sports betting. Eight states have already passed legislation and started accepting bets while nearly 20 others are still proposing bills to allow sports betting.
As the national sports betting landscape changes, we expect to see many state laws change to increase state revenue and to make state services more accessible. Not many states have enacted mobile betting laws, but if states like Iowa and New Jersey make a substantial amount of state revenue from those services, we expect other states to follow suit.
