As many Iowans placed wagers for Sunday’s football game, that money is benefiting residents of the state. 

House District 20 State Representative Ray Sorensen says that since sports gambling has been legalized in Iowa, the state has taken in more money than expected. Sorensen explains they have introduced House File 2286 this bill would help everybody get a piece of the sports gambling funds. 

“The bill that we’re looking at would appropriate current and future sports wagering funds to the County Endowment Fund, which is a collection of 84 counties that don’t have a licensed casino in their? county. The goal of the bill is to help move and more evenly spread the revenue from gambling and sports wagering across all of Iowa.”

Sorensen says currently the Endowment Fund receives eight  percent of the commercial gaming tax revenue for a total of $12.8 million. He states the bill would evenly spread that money to all 84 counties for economic growth. Sorensen conveys that Iowa has the right measures to protect its citizens from addiction. 

“That’s why we have ‘1-800-Bets-Off,’ I mean, obviously, gambling is one of those things that can lead to disaster if you don’t manage your finances well, but we live in a free country. I believe that you should be able to, you know, be free to place a bet”.

In 2021, during the NFL’s championship game last season 16 million bets were placed in Iowa.