Iowa Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver says based on his own experience, he has no concerns about Iowa college athletes being influenced to change a game’s outcome if sports betting is legalized in Iowa. Whitver, a Republican from Ankeny, was a wide receiver for the Iowa State Cyclones from 1999 through 2003.
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Bills eligible for debate in the Iowa House AND in the Senate where Whitver is a leader would let the 19 state-licensed casinos collect bets on professional and collegiate sporting events through a smart phone app. The casinos “sports betting” operations then would be subject to a state tax of less than seven percent.
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The bills that have emerged at the statehouse would prevent bets on individual performances in college games happening IN IOWA. That means you wouldn’t be able to bet on how many touchdowns a quarterback might throw or how many free throws a basketball player might miss. Whitver says he has no problem banning those kind of wagers — called “prop bets” — if it helps get the 26 votes, he needs in the senate to make sports betting legal in Iowa.