Iowa lawmakers to revisit casino moratorium
The Iowa casino moratorium legislation is expected to be brought up within the first few weeks of the 2025 session.
US.- The 2025 Iowa legislative session has begun and one of the items on the agenda is a plan to revise a moratorium on new casinos in the state. Representative Bobby Kaufmann’s bill would ultimately block the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission from considering a casino licence application from Cedar Rapids, halting new casino developments until 2029.
Last April, the Iowa House overwhelmingly voted for a casino moratorium that would last through 2029, but the proposal was not considered by the Iowa Senate. Kaufmann says there’s growing support for a moratorium.
The state’s existing casinos support a moratorium. Alex Dixon, president and CEO of Q Casino, said allowing a casino in Cedar Rapids would hurt his Dubuque business as well as casinos in Riverside and Waterloo.
Boyd Gaming, which owns and operates the Diamond Jo, said a Cedar Rapids casino would “have a negative impact on Dubuque and other markets.” A feasibility study commissioned by the state gaming agency reached a similar conclusion. On February 6, the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission is scheduled to vote on the $275m development.
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Attempts to bring a casino to Cedar Rapids failed in 2014 and 2017. On both occasions, the IRGC said a new venue would take away from other nearby casinos (there are 19 licensed casinos in Iowa). Linn County voters approved a measure in 2021 that allows developers to seek a casino licence for the county in perpetuity.
The proposed $275m development would be built on the former Cooper’s Mill site, on Cedar Rapids’ northwest side, and feature a casino with 700 slot machines and 22 table games, plus a group of restaurants, bars, a 1,500-seat entertainment venue, an arts and cultural center and a STEM lab for families.
