Iowa Lawmaker Proposing Casino Moratorium in Cedar Rapids

Iowa Rep. Bobby Kauffman (left), seen here in the Iowa Senate chamber in Des Moines, wants to stop new casinos from opening in Cedar Rapids. (Image: Charlie Neibergall / AP)

Iowa Representative Bobby Kaufmann (R-Wilton) is planning to propose a moratorium on new casinos in the state when the 2025 legislative session opens on Monday.

That move could prevent a Cedar Rapids casino license application from being considered by the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission (IRGC).

Moratorium Expiration Opens Window for New Casinos

The IRGC is set to vote on the proposed casino, a $275 million facility that would be built in northwest Cedar Rapids, on February 6. That means that Kaufmann is hoping to get his moratorium introduced immediately and then passed quickly to block that effort.

“Planning to pursue it early, because obviously the elephant in the room is the deadline with the IRGC,” Kaufmann said, via Radio Iowa. 

The Iowa House voted for such a moratorium last April that would extend a previous ban that was set to expire in July 2024, allowing it to remain in place through 2029. However, that bill was never considered by the Iowa Senate, leaving the door open for casino projects to gain approval once the previous moratorium ended.

Kaufmann’s bill would not only pause any approvals for new casinos, but also would provide new guidelines for how the IRGC should consider future applications. That would include considering “saturation levels” among other standards.

The idea of casino oversaturation has been the primary reason for opposition to Cedar Crossing Casino and Entertainment Center, the development that would include the Cedar Rapids casino. Many competing casinos, especially those in Riverside and Waterloo, say that a new casino in Cedar Rapids wouldn’t generate new business – simply cannibalize revenues from their venues.

Casino Debate: Cannibalization or Healthy Competition?

Multiple market studies show that a casino in Cedar Rapids could generate $120 million or more in gambling revenue each year. However, those same studies show that between $55 and $68 million of those revenues would be taken away from other casinos in the state. 

Riverside Casino, located in nearby Washington County, could take the brunt of those losses.

“If you look at a nearly 30% reduction on our revenues, extrapolating that on our staff of nearly 700 employees here, I mean we’re talking 200 employees, 200 jobs on the line,” Damon John, general manager at Riverside Casino and Golf Resort, told KCRG. 

The Linn County Gaming Association, which is behind the Cedar Crossing development plan, disagrees with that assessment – saying that their casino would provide competition that’s good for consumers.

“I’m a free market person, and so I think competition is good,” Linn County Gaming Association President Anne Parmley told KCRG. “It raises all tides.”

Riverside Casino and the Washington County Riverboat Foundation have asked the IRGC to reject the Cedars Rapids application. Along with their concerns of cannibalization, they also claim that the Linn County gambling referendum that was approved in 2021 was incorrectly worded and thus invalid. 

That petition is scheduled to be heard on January 23. The Linn County Gaming Association have asked the commission to deny the petition, saying that outside groups shouldn’t be able to overturn the will of voters in Linn County.