After the Iowa House passed a casino moratorium bill, the legislation failed to get out of the Senate State Government Committee before the state regulator for casinos approved another casino license.

Sources say, the House approved a casino moratorium that wouldn’t allow a new casino license to be issued for five years. The legislation was sent to the Senate State Government Committee where District 24 Senator Jesse Green, who serves on that committee, says the bill did not have enough votes to get to the Senate floor. After that happened, the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission (IRGC) voted 4-1 to approve a new casino license for the Cedar Rapids area. 

Green tells Raccoon Valley Radio casino moratoriums are not common nationally as Iowa was the only state that had a casino moratorium. However, he was in favor of looking into a particular area when it comes to the IRGC.

“I still have a concern when it comes to the rules as to how the gaming board (IRGC) makes their decisions. I want to make sure that the rules are clear and defined, and once we are happy those rules, we let the commission do its job.”   

Green believes much of the time during the legislative session was spent on the casino moratorium topic, he urges his fellow lawmakers to get back to the bills and topics that the people of Iowa elected them to address such as property taxes and education.