Let the commission decide

In 1983, the Iowa Legislature passed the Pari-Mutuel Wagering Act, which allowed Iowans to be on horse and dog racing in the state. To oversee the industry, then-Gov. Terry Branstad appointed the first Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission in May 1983.

The state’s leaders decided regulation of gambling shouldn’t simply be handed to an existing agency with other duties. They wanted a commission that would work solely to make sure gambling was legally conducted. There were worries about the possibility of organized crime and other unscrupulous interests infiltrating the state.

So for 42 years, the commission has regulated gambling as it went from tracks, to cruising riverboats, to racetrack slots and onto the land-based facilities we have today. Through all those changes, the commission was trusted to do its job, which includes determining which proposed gambling operations should receive state licenses.

The commission has overseen a clean and profitable casino industry into maturity.

Which all begs the question, why are some Iowa lawmakers now intent on grabbing authority from the commission just to stop a Linn County from getting a license?

State Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, R-Wilton, is pushing a bill that would order a five-year moratorium on new casino licenses. He fears a Cedar Rapids casino would cannibalize revenues from existing casinos, resulting in job losses.

He’s trying to get the bill passed and signed by Gov. Kim Reynolds before Feb. 6, when the commission is set to decide on Linn County’s license application.

It passed the House on Thursday while an identical bill cleared a Senate committee.

Along with the moratorium, the bill would require commissioners to turn down any license application for a casino that would get more than 10 percent of its revenues at the expense of existing casinos. There’s also language in the bill that would basically mean Riverside will never face competition. Investors who are denied a license must wait eight years to try again.

There’s no evidence the commission doesn’t already understand cannibalization. Two previous efforts to win a license for Linn County were voted down because the commission feared a new casino would take too many revenues from existing facilities.

But Kaufmann and his backers from Riverside Casino & Golf Resort, which would lose the most revenue if a casino opens in Cedar Rapids, want a bill that will deny Linn County and Cedar Rapids a license in perpetuity.

It’s unseemly the Legislature would use its power to stop a project in one city and then make such a development nearly impossible going forward. And shoving the Racing and Gaming Commission out of the picture is a shortsighted power grab.

We hope the Senate and governor reject the bill and let the commission do its job.

(319) 398-8262; editorial@thegazette.com