Iowa Expanding Gambling, Legalizes 'Casino Nights'
Presently, the law there allows these groups to give away $10,000 in "merchandise only," not cash, to winners, according to experts.Rep. Brian Quirk (D-New Hampton) said that local non-profit groups will benefit from the new law, increasing their ability to raise funds. "Who is this about? Who is this going to help? Your local firefighters, your EMS (emergency medical services), your local Lions club, your Kiwanis, your local church. The restriction for buy-in is minimal," said Quirk.
Under the new law, there's a $250 limit on how much a participant can spend, which Quirk called a "minimal" intrusion on gambler's rights. Any one person's cash winnings would be limited to $5,000, under the new measure.
"Imagine the things you can do with the money, the local community building and foundation and spirits," said Quirk.
Gambling foes are fuming and have called the bill a "significant expansion" of gambling there. Rep. Scott Raecker (R-Urbandale), said there would be $10,000 in cash given out with no "real" supervision by government authorities. "We're opening up an area of social gambling in this state that we've never tread upon before. This is a whole bunch of money in unregulated environments," said Raecker, of course, not noting that most businesses are unregulated by the government.
The Iowa state Senate called for the new $10,000 cash game nights with little debate, and no controversy, and the bill goes back to the Senate for consideration of minor House changes. It is expected to become law soon.
Other Bills Pending Passage
Two other gambling-related bills await action in the Iowa House, and House Speaker Pat Murphy said he expected both bills to pass. "The water and the reference, those are issues that have been pretty heavily lobbied for the last year now," Murphy said. One bill would erase the state requirement that state-licensed gambling casinos that are not hooked to a race track float on water, like a riverboat.The other bill loosens the requirements for local referendums that voters must approve before a gambling enterprise can be built in a county.
The timeframe for the other bills to be debated was uncertain.
"Sometimes a bill takes five minutes and sometimes it takes three hours. It depends on the temperament of the chamber," said Murphy. "Yesterday the temperament was that they wanted to debate gambling."
The two bills awaiting debate in the House passed the Senate with little debate, Murphy noted.
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