Gambling opponents may seek limits on the number of new riverboats in Iowa when the gambling bill comes up for debate again in the House. The Senate voted early this morning to leave the door open to expansion, and did not specify how many new licenses could be granted by the State Racing and Gaming Commission. House Speaker Christopher Rants, a republican from Sioux City, says there’s some irony to that. Rants says he can’t predict whether the House will vote to establish a moratorium on new gaming operations or vote to let state regulators decide — the same regulators who said last year that they wanted lawmakers to make the decision on whether there’ll be new riverboat operations in Iowa. Rants says it’s also ironic that gambling opponents may be the ones pushing the idea of allowing just one or two new riverboat licenses as an alternative to unlimited gambling expansion. Rants says lawmakers are going over their options today, and there are several different approaches being considered. Rants says the House will debate the gambling bill tomorrow (Thursday).
