Online gambling legalisation a possibility in Iowa?

News on 9 Jan 2011

The pressure for legalisation of online gambling in the state of Iowa appears to be growing…and some local politicians are not averse to the idea, according to a piece in the newspaper Des Moines Register this week.
“I don’t have strong feelings on that issue,” Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal told the newspaper after it reported that an estimated 150 000 Iowans already gamble on the internet with scant regulatory protection.
“Some efforts to take charge of our fate on this … makes sense,” Gronstal added, suggesting that such a system might include requiring punters to sign up at local land casinos with cash upfront to obviate the dangers of credit card betting. He additionally stressed the need for safeguards against money laundering, underage and problem gamblers.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, warned that moving into online gambling may generate tax revenues but was by its nature certain to be controversial, with interested parties complicating the issue with suggestions and proposals that changes also be made to dog and horse racing or other existing state gambling laws.

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