Bill > HSB80

Introduced Session

This bill concerns the licensing and regulation of gambling games. Under current law, the state racing and gaming commission (commission) is required to conduct a socioeconomic study on the impact of gambling on Iowans every eight years. H.F. _____ The bill identifies certain topics the commission must examine for this socioeconomic study, and prohibits the commission from issuing a new license on or after July 1, 2030, until the required report on the socioeconomic study has been issued by the commission for 2029. The bill places a moratorium on the issuance of new licenses to conduct gambling games in excess of 19 licenses from January 1, 2025, through June 30, 2030. The bill restricts gambling games licenses to those counties conducting gambling games on January 1, 2025. The bill allows the commission to authorize a gambling games licensee to move to a new location within the same county, to issue a gambling games license in a county if a licensed facility in that county is sold, and to issue a new license in a county if a previous license to conduct gambling games in that county was surrendered, not renewed, or revoked. Before a license is granted, the bill requires an operator of an excursion gambling boat to work with the economic development authority to encourage tourism from other states. The bill prohibits the commission from issuing a new gambling games license to an excursion gambling boat if the new license would impact an existing licensee located in a county contiguous to the Iowa border or a “rural county” (a county with a population less than 30,000). The bill prohibits the commission from issuing a new gambling games license if the new license would negatively impact the adjusted gross receipts of an existing gambling games licensee by more than 10 percent, or negatively impact the annual distributions of an existing qualified sponsoring organization. If the commission does not issue a gambling games license in a county, another applicant cannot apply for a license in the same county for eight years from the date of the decision not to issue. The bill places an inflation adjustment on the initial license fees in Code section 99F.10(8). The bill requires the commission to study internet gaming H.F. _____ and its impact on the state’s gaming industry and to issue a report with findings and recommendations to the general assembly by January 1, 2026. The bill takes effect upon enactment and applies retroactively to January 1, 2025.

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Committee report approving bill, renumbered as HF 144. (on 01/27/2025)

Official Document