The Hawkeye State was quick to approve and launch online sports betting back in 2019 but State Rep. Jacob Bossman says online casino gambling may be a bridge too far… at least for now, despite the state’s early success in the world of Iowa sports betting.
Gaming Fatigue
Speaking at the National Council of Legislators from Gaming States conference in Denver in July, Representative Bossman said, “I expect it will make progress. It would be nice if we could get it passed next year, but I’m a little bit pessimistic.”
The “it” Bossman is referring to is online casino gambling, or iGaming as to which it is often referred, and the legislator cites several factors in its failure to resonate with the legislature. The fatigue associated with an already expanded menu of gambling options in the Hawkeye State is one but exacerbating gambling addiction is another.
“There’s a lot of pushback from a portion of the members that are really hesitant to do what they perceive as an expansion of gambling. There’s still a lot of hesitation to do something else because there’s a perception that we just expanded in some people’s minds, and there’s some hesitancy to expand that again,” said Bossman.
David vs. Goliath
Yet, the most formidable force in its failure to launch is likely the resistance from the local land-based casinos that are leery of cannibalization at the retail level from online gambling and are unable to compete with the national and international firms like Las Vegas-based Caesars, which currently operates four casinos in Iowa including the Isle Casino-Hotel locations in Bettendorf and Waterloo, Harrah’s Council Bluffs, and Horseshoe Council Bluffs.
Local gaming entities like Elite Casino Resorts, currently operating three casinos, understand that they are heavily invested in Iowa’s resort casinos in the retail realm and will likely not be equipped to compete with an online gaming company like Caesars in the digital marketplace.
“Cannibalization is one of the issues that come up,” Bossman said. “In rural areas, most of the casinos in Iowa are set up as destination locations with golf courses, concert venues, and hotels. And so, there’s a lot of concern that they built up this infrastructure and if people can do the same thing online at home, that they’ve sort of wasted that investment.”
Wes Ehrecke of the Iowa Gaming Association said that 13 of the 19 commercial casinos favored Iowa iGaming but getting universal support from the state’s gaming operators is the goal.
Competing for a Piece of the Growing Pie
Howard Glaser, global head of government affairs and legislative counsel for Light & Wonder, was also present at the National Council of Legislators from Gaming States conference and echoed Bossman’s sentiments.
“In Iowa, you have national casino brands but you also have these consortiums of local brands who are concerned about being able to compete in the digital marketplace with the big guys. So, while it’s true on the whole that there is no cannibalization and in fact, there’s market growth, the next question becomes, OK, we’re going to grow the pie. Who’s going to get it? And so, this is a little bit of a fight over who gets a piece of this growing pie.”
Perhaps another factor could also be the state’s budget surplus of over $2 billion which likely quells the calls for additional tax revenue to the state by the state’s legislators.
However, Nebraska approved casino gambling at the state’s horse tracks in 2020 and there are already three casinos operating. Should the local casinos experience a decrease in revenue from Nebraskans no longer fleeing the state to neighboring Iowa to gamble, this could turn the tide and get the local casino operators on board for iGaming, in which they too would have a “skin” or two in the game.
*Bookmakers Review will continue to monitor this story and update our readers as events unfold.
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