This bill addresses the licensing and regulation of gambling games in Iowa, instituting a moratorium on the issuance of new licenses from January 1, 2025, to June 30, 2030, limiting the total number of licenses to 19 during this period. It mandates that the state racing and gaming commission conduct a socioeconomic study every eight years, starting in 2013, with specific topics outlined for the study, including the financial and societal impacts of gambling, problem gambling treatment programs, and evaluations of existing gambling facilities. Notably, the commission is prohibited from issuing new licenses after July 1, 2030, until the report for the 2029 study is completed.

Additionally, the bill restricts new gambling licenses to counties that had licensed gambling operations as of January 1, 2025, and allows for certain license transfers within counties. It emphasizes the need for operators to collaborate with the economic development authority to promote tourism and includes provisions to prevent new licenses from negatively impacting existing licensees' revenues or distributions. If a new license is denied in a county, no further applications can be submitted for eight years. The bill takes effect immediately upon enactment and is retroactively applicable from January 1, 2025.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 99F.4, 99F.6