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Read. Follow. Verify.Iowa Senate Bill 625 Overhauls Gambling License Fees, Sets Uniform Tax Rates, and Directs Revenue to Public Safety Funds
Last action · April 18, 2025: Fiscal note .
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What This Bill Would Do
Senate File 625 establishes uniform gambling tax rates, doubles annual excursion boat and gambling structure license fees to $10 per person capacity, and appropriates $8 million annually from sports wagering receipts to the public safety equipment fund starting July 1, 2026.
Gambling operators face restructured fee calculations and flat wagering tax percentages, while the state directs millions in gaming revenue toward criminal investigation support costs and public safety equipment starting in 2027.
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Excursion gambling boat and gambling structure licensees
Licensees face doubled annual capacity fees and a flat 22 percent tax on adjusted gross receipts.
Racetrack enclosure licensees
Racetracks are subject to a flat 24.120 percent tax on adjusted gross receipts regardless of table game licensing.
Sports wagering operators
Operators face an increased tax rate of 9 percent on sports wagering net receipts.
Department of Public Safety
The department receives direct support funding from the gaming enforcement revolving fund and an annual $8 million allocation for equipment.
Key Facts
- Effective July 1, 2026, remaining wagering tax receipts shall be credited to the gaming enforcement revolving fund to support division of criminal investigation enforcement activities.
- Appropriates $8 million annually from the sports wagering receipts fund to the public safety equipment fund starting July 1, 2026.
- Doubles the annual license fee for excursion gambling boats and gambling structures from $5 to $10 per person capacity.
- Imposes a flat tax rate of 22 percent on adjusted gross receipts for excursion gambling boats or gambling structures.
Show all 8 facts
- Imposes a flat tax rate of 24.120 percent on adjusted gross receipts for racetrack enclosures conducting gambling games, regardless of a table games license.
- Creates the Iowa horse racing fund in the state treasury under the control of the commission, funded by a 2 percent advance deposit wagering tax.
- Increases the tax rate on sports wagering net receipts received by a licensed operator from 6.75 percent to 9 percent.
- Strips previous tiered tax structures on adjusted gross receipts that taxed 5 percent on the first $1 million and 10 percent on the next $2 million.
Frequently Asked Questions
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News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently passed chamber. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Law.
Procedural history
21 actions- Apr 18, 2025Iowa LegislatureFiscal note .
- Apr 17, 2025HouseIntroducedRead first time, referred to Ways and Means. H.J. 988 .
- Apr 17, 2025HouseMessage from Senate. H.J. 954 .
- Apr 17, 2025SenateImmediate message. S.J. 826 .
- Apr 17, 2025SenateFloorPassed Senate , yeas 47, nays 0. S.J. 823 .
- Apr 17, 2025SenateFloorAmendment S-3108 filed, adopted. S.J. 823 .
Show 15 earlier actions
- Apr 16, 2025SenateCommittee report approving bill, renumbered as SF 625 . S.J. 818 .
- Apr 16, 2025Iowa LegislatureFiscal note .
- Apr 16, 2025SenateCommittee report, approving bill. S.J. 818 .
- Apr 16, 2025SenateIntroducedIntroduced, placed on Appropriations calendar. S.J. 817 .
- Mar 31, 2025Iowa LegislatureSubcommittee recommends passage.
- Mar 28, 2025Iowa LegislatureSubcommittee Meeting: 03/31/2025 1:30PM Room 217 Conference Room.
- Mar 26, 2025SenateSubcommittee: Koelker, Petersen, and Rowley. S.J. 653 .
- Mar 20, 2025SenateCommitteeReferred to Appropriations. S.J. 601 .
- Mar 19, 2025SenateCommittee report, approving bill. S.J. 590 .
- Mar 19, 2025SenateIntroducedIntroduced, placed on Ways and Means calendar. S.J. 588 .
- Mar 18, 2025Iowa LegislatureCommittee report approving bill, renumbered as SF 613 .
- Feb 24, 2025Iowa LegislatureSubcommittee recommends passage.
- Feb 20, 2025Iowa LegislatureSubcommittee Meeting: 02/24/2025 2:00PM Room 217 Conference Room.
- Feb 19, 2025Iowa LegislatureSubcommittee: Dawson, Bisignano, and Koelker.
- Feb 18, 2025Iowa LegislatureIntroducedIntroduced, referred to Ways and Means.
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Transition to Flat Gambling Tax Rates
The bill eliminates the tiered tax structure on adjusted gross receipts in favor of flat percentages for different types of gaming facilities.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.legis.iowa.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance75How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy40Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz35Current news / social attention level
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