Legislator wants to toss out ban on new gambling licenses

A key senator wants to get rid of the proposed moratorium on new gambling licenses. Senator Mark Zieman, a republican from Postville, wants to rip that moratorium out of the House-passed gambling bill.Zieman says the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission should decide whether the moratorium the commission imposed should be lifted, and Zieman says lawmakers are considering “putting it back in the commission’s lap.” Zieman says he can’t predict how senators will vote, though.Zieman says there are groups of senators on “both ends of the issue” while he says the remainder are willing to look at tossing the ball back to the Racing and Gaming Commission — even though regulators asked lawmakers to “clarify” and provide guidance about new gambling licenses. Zieman says the thing he’s most concerned about is that he’s unsure whether the House would accept the version of the bill he’d like to advance. Zieman leads a subcommittee which met yesterday and heard from folks representing areas of the state which want to land a new riverboat gambling operation. Bob Perry was one of a dozen Worth County residents who were at the capitol yesterday, lobbying lawmakers for a shot at a casino.Perry, who is the mayor of Northwood, says they consider a casino economic development, and the potential of new jobs in the area that might bring new residents to his town.