A bill that would ban simulcasts of greyhound races for gamblers at Iowa casinos has cleared initial review in the Iowa Senate and House.
Iowa ended live greyhound racing in Dubuque in mid-2022 and there are only two greyhound tracks still operating in the U.S. Both are in West Virginia.
Carey Theil is with Grey2KUSA, an organization that has been lobbying to end greyhound racing worldwide. He testified this morning before a House subcommittee. “There was only $2.4 million wagered on greyhound simulcasting last year,” Theil said. “That’s declined by 70% since 2018.”
Forty-four states have banned live greyhound racing and lawmakers in seven other states have taken the step of banning simulcasting of dog races into casinos in their states. “When greyhound simulcasting has ended at other facilities, there has been a migration from greyhound simulcasting to horse simulcasting. I believe,” Theil said. “If you look at simulcasting in total, 86% of all simulcasting in Iowa is on horse, not dog, so this is a very small piece of the overall simulcasting pie.”
Doug Struyk, a lobbyist for Caeser’s Entertainment, which operates the Harrah’s and Horseshow Casinos in Council Bluffs, urged lawmakers to reject the bill. “We have a not insignificant amount of traffic that comes from Omaha, where they do not simulcast dog races,” Struyk said. “We simulast dog races and horse races. That allows us to bring traffic from Omaha that has recently legalized wagering.”
John Moss is executive director of the Iowa Horsemens Benevolent and Protective Association, which represents over 1200 thoroughbred owners who race their horses at Prairie Meadows. The group also operates all the simulcasts at the casino in Clinton. He told lawmakers 18 % of the bets on simulcasts of horse and dog races in Clinton are placed on greyhounds. “We have significant flow from out of state that actually contributes to that,” Moss said. “We have a big group of individuals who come down from Wisconsin…We’re actually seeing an influx of people from Illinois.”
Moss indicated the Clinton casino would take a hit of at least a half a million dollars if greyhound simulcasts end. Jeff Boeyink, a lobbyist for Wild Rose Casinos — which operates the Clinton facility, said a number of people from Dubuque who used to watch live greyhound races there drive to Clinton to bet on the simulcast dog races.
“The margins are not super great in these facilities, so you’re always fighting for traffic and so any amenity that brings traffic into the building is an amenity you want to keep,” Boeyink said. “It’s not a huge revenue source for us and I’m not here to argue the ethics of dog racing. I’m just telling you it brings people into our facility. That’s meaningful to us and if this sport is going to die, let it die on its own. Iowa doesn’t need to be a part of that.”
Boeyink also told lawmakers his reading of the bill indicates simulcasts of greyhound races could continue at Prairie Meadows in Altoona and a Council Bluffs casino if the bill becomes law.
In 1984, the Iowa legislature and then-Governor Branstad legalized parimutuel wagering in Iowa, allowing horse and dog racing in the state. Greyhound race tracks were establishes in Dubuque and Council Bluffs Live greyhound races at the Horseshoe in Council Bluffs ended in December of 2015 and ended in Dubuque seven years later.
