Iowa has become the latest state in the United State to sign sports betting into law making it legal in the state. Iowa has a long history of legalized gambling so making sports betting legal in the state in May of this year should not come as a surprise to anyone as virtually every other form of gambling is legal in the state of Iowa. This article will take a look at the history of betting in the state as well as the status of sports betting in the state. We will also take a glance into betting, where to bet and teams that should drive sports betting in the state of Iowa. We’ll begin by taking a small glance at the three aspects before taking a more in depth look at each category. We’ll start by taking a look at the status of betting at a glance.
AT A GLANCE
Status of Betting At A Glance: Casino games, live poker, sports betting, lottery and bingo games are all legal in the state of Iowa, however like the majority of the state in the United State mobile betting is not legal at this time. Mobile betting may become legal in the future, however as of now this aspect of betting is not legal.
Places to Bet: As of right now no casino in the state is offering sports betting but that will change as the law was just signed in May of 2019. The top 10 casinos in Iowa though are: Horseshoe Council Bluffs in Council Bluffs, Hard Rock Casino Sioux City in Sioux City, Diamond Jo Casino in Dubuque, Harrah’s Casino in Council Bluffs, Prairie Meadows in Altoona, Rhythm City Casino Resort in Davenport, Ameristar Casino Hotel in Council Bluffs, The Iowa Greyhound Park in Dubuque, Q Casino in Dubuque and Riverside Casino and Golf Resort in Riverside.
Teams at a Glance: Iowa is another state where there are no professional sports teams, but due to the fact that they share a border with many states that do including Wisconsin, Minnesota and Illinois once casinos open the sportsbooks residents of these states are likely to travel to Iowa to place bets on these teams.
Status of Betting
One thing that stands out in the state of Iowa is that licensing of casinos in each county has been very democratic. Starting in 1991, laws were passed that allowed individual counties in the state to vote on whether or not to allow gambling in their county. Since then there have been 18 counties that have voted to allow casinos on their land. In addition to land casinos that are riverboat and Indian casinos. Social poker games are allowed in the state though most are aimed at penny games. There is a maximum $50 profit rule where if the profit is more than $50 for hosting the poker game it then becomes illegal. Racing is also big business in Iowa. There are three racetracks in the state of Iowa which all have slots as well as casino games on site. Pari-mutuel wagering started in 1983, with betting on races from other states added in 1989. A lot of philanthropy comes from the revenue gained through gaming in the state with some of the money being invested into the education system. The lottery became legal in the state in 1985 and includes the PowerBall. Sports betting became legal in May of 2019
Where to bet sports
There may not be any casinos that offer sports betting at this time but that is because the law is still new and wasn’t signed into law until May of this year. Listed below are the top 10 casinos in the state with a little exert of why they are in the top 10. The casinos on the list will likely offer sports betting soon.
Horseshoe Council Bluffs: “My experience at the Horseshoe Casino has always been a treat very friendly staff very knowledgeable staff very courteous staff valet is fast and Swift their spot on the food is unbelievably wonderful.”
Hard Rock Casino Sioux Falls: “Hard Rock Café Hotel and Casino is awesome and amazing love it! Will be stopping again soon couple weeks to try my luck rock and roll sherry Cleland Des Moines, IA.”
Diamond Jo Casino: “Best food of all the casinos in Northern Illinois and Eastern Iowa, friendly staff and all around a fun place to go.”
Harrah’s Casino: “Harrah’s Casino is a really fun casino with a good variety of games; You will enjoy the casino; and the buffet is excellent as is the small café and the excellent dining at the 360 steakhouse! Very friend staff and comfortable beds.”
Prairie Meadows: “This is a complex of a big hotel, a horse racetrack, a gambling casino with all kinds of adult games and a first-class restraint and bar and an entertainment center with nationally known entertainers holding special event concerts. It is well publicized. It is huge, beautiful building. It is very busy 24 hours a day 7 days a week. There is a giant free parking lot on the West side. It is free to go in and look around.”
Rhythm City Casino Resort: “Fun casino, good food, friendly staff, clean and comfortable, easy layout, conference rooms great, nice gift shop.”
Ameristar Casino Hotel: “Yesterday, my wife and oldest son stopped by there before heading back to Las Vegas and the casino is still beautiful, friendly and exciting just like the old days.”
The Iowa Greyhound Park: “There are inexpensive concessions, or you can get meals from the sports bar in the casino and bring them in.”
Q Casino: “This is just like a Las Vegas Casino has a great sports bar inside they have great music they also have a dog track that is open in the summer great way to spend the day.”
Riverside Casino and Golf Resort: “The Riverside Casino is a mid-sized casino that has everything you’re looking for.”
Latest News
The Iowa legislature has authorized the state’s casinos and racetracks to build sportsbooks, and it doesn’t take a giant leap of faith to know that people will come. Bill sponsors Representative Bobby Kaufman and Senator Roby Smith total LSR that SF 617, passed by the senate last week, would clear the house on Monday. Sure enough, their colleagues voted 67-31 in favor of the bill to legalize Iowa sports betting late in the evening hours. HF 648 was first amended to match verbatim the Senate sports betting bill. With unanimous consent, the House then substituted the Senate bill for debate and voted it through. Having passed both chambers, the proposed legislation now heads to the governor for the final decision.
With the stroke of the governor’s pen, Iowa sports betting emerged Monday from the cornfields. Governor Kim Reynolds signed SF 617 into law after weeks of deliberation, making Iowa the third state to approve legal sports betting in 2019. Montana and Indiana enacted the first two laws. The details of the law are as follows: 6.75% tax rate on sports betting revenue, $45,000 license fee, $10,000 renewal fee, Mobile betting via intrastate means only, up to two skins per licensee, In-person registration for mobile apps until January 1, 2021, ban on prop bets involving in-state college teams, but betting on college games is generally allowed, and is regulated by the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission.
Sports Teams that Drive Betting
With no professional teams in the state of Iowa as well as the law specifically stating that betting is not allowed on college teams that are in the state of Iowa which includes the Iowa Hawkeyes and Iowa City Cyclones. No casino has opened up a sports book, but the following are likely the teams in the major sports that will help drive sports betting in the state of Iowa.
NBA: With Iowa sharing borders with Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota the teams that are likely to drive sports betting in the state are the Chicago Bulls, Milwaukee Bucks and Minnesota Timberwolves.
NFL: Without an NFL team in the state of Iowa the state will rely on residents from residents of Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota to drive sports betting and residents of these state are likely fans of the Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings.
MLB: Residents are that live close to the state of Iowa are likely to travel to make bets on professional sports teams and since Wisconsin, Illinois and Minnesota are all in close proximity to the state which mean the MLB likely to help drive sports betting in the state are the Milwaukee Brewers, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins.
NHL: As previously stated there are no professional sports teams in the state of Iowa but there are three states that border Iowa where residents are likely to travel to Iowa to bet on their home state teams in NHL this will be no different as fans of the Minnesota Wild and Chicago Blackhawks are likely to travel to Iowa to place sports wagers.
Legal Status
Casino: Yes, there are licensed casinos including riverboat casinos and also venues on tribal lands plus casinos at the licensed racetracks.
Sports betting: Yes, became legal in May of 2019, but due to the law being new there haven’t been any sportsbooks to open up in the state.
Horse Racing: Yes, the state of Iowa has three major racetracks and players are also allowed to bet on horse races from other states.
Poker: Live Poker yes, there are plenty of live poker games available at tribal, State and race-track casinos including tournaments and cash games. Social poker is allowed, however the provisions for this are very complex and focus on keeping these as penny ante type games. Online poker though is not legal.
DFS: No, this form of gambling is not legal in the state of Iowa.
Lottery: Yes, there is a popular lottery in Iowa, and inter-State lottery games including the PowerBall can be enjoyed.
Sports Betting Timeline
· April 22nd, 2019 Bill passes through both legislatures and is passed on for Governor Kim Reynolds to sign
· May 13th, 2019 Governor Kim Reynolds signs SF 617 into law making sports betting legal in the state of Iowa.
