The Iowa Legislature’s moratorium on new gambling licenses has expired and groups in Linn County plan to seek a license for a casino in Cedar Rapids.
The President of the Linn County Gaming Association, Anne Parmley, says the plan is something that has been in the works for some time. “We were prepared to apply for a license before the legislature introduced the moratorium and so we’ve just kind of been patiently waiting for two years for that to lift and to continue forward with that process,” she says. National gaming operator and developer Peninsula Pacific Entertainment put together the casino plan with the Linn County Gaming Association and a local nonprofit association.
State Regulators have denied a gambling permit twice for Cedar Rapids with the concern a casino there would take away money from existing casinos. Parmley says the gambling landscape has changed. “You know at the time, we were talking about the cannibalization of revenues generated for Iowa as a whole because of casino operation growth across the border in Nebraska, Illinois and Wisconsin. Some of those facilities are now up in operating so they are in the process of impacting Iowa revenues from gaming,” Parmley says.
Parmley says a Cedar Rapids casino would keep revenues in Iowa. “Being the second largest city in the state, Cedar Rapids, having a gaming facility to generate the kind of revenue that contributes not only to the economic development landscape and the vitality of our city, but also the significant percentage of funds that would come from gaming proceeds to support our nonprofits,” she says. The developers say Cedar Crossing plans to contribute eight percent of its annual gaming revenue to nonprofit organizations, more than the state required three percent. “With eight percent of the revenues coming back to Linn County we get to leverage those funds for Linn County,” Parmley says.
The administrator of the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission says commissioners will discuss how to move forward now that the moratorium on gambling licenses has expired. They are expected to do that at their meeting July 8th in Altoona.