Iowa bill clears committee stage
Eleven votes in favour of Jeff Danielson's SSB 3164 and four against.
Iowa Senator Jeff Danielson’s egaming bill has passed the committee stage by 11 votes to four, moving regulated online gambling in the Hawkeye State one step closer.
The bill had already been unanimously passed by a three-man subcommittee earlier this week, and will now move on to the full Senate.
Senate majority leader Mike Gronstal, a Democrat, told Iowan broadcaster KCRG that the legislation had “a 50-50 chance” of passing through the Senate.
Danielson’s bill was fast-tracked this week in order to ensure it met the “funnel” deadline for the continued consideration of legislation in the state.
A number of land-based casinos in Iowa have expressed their support for the proposals, although a poll of 800 residents conducted newspaper the Des Moines Register found that 69% of those polled were opposed to regulated egaming in the Hawkeye State.