{"id":14277,"date":"2025-03-20T12:19:20","date_gmt":"2025-03-20T12:19:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.legitgambling.com\/news\/?p=14277"},"modified":"2025-03-20T12:19:20","modified_gmt":"2025-03-20T12:19:20","slug":"concerns-over-ballot-language-in-cedar-rapids-casino-dispute","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.legitgambling.com\/news\/concerns-over-ballot-language-in-cedar-rapids-casino-dispute\/","title":{"rendered":"Concerns Over Ballot Language in Cedar Rapids Casino Dispute"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.legitgambling.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/proposed-cedar-crossing-casino.jpg\" alt=\"Proposed Cedar Crossing Casino\" width=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-14279\" \/><strong>Summary:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>An Iowa judge has discovered potential flaws in the ballot wording that approved gambling in Linn County. <\/li>\n<li>Riverside Casino &#038; Golf Resort argues the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission lacked authority to issue the new casino license.<\/li>\n<li>The court chose not to grant a temporary halt to the license.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The legal battle over a new <a href=\"https:\/\/www.legitgambling.com\/us\/states\/iowa\">Iowa casino<\/a> in northwest Cedar Rapids near downtown carries on as a judge recently questioned the wording of a 2021 ballot measure that authorized gambling in Linn County. <\/p>\n<h2>Riverside Wants Cedar Rapid Casino\u2019s License Halted <\/h2>\n<p>Washington County-located <strong>Riverside Casino &#038; Golf Resort<\/strong> argues <a href=\"https:\/\/www.legitgambling.com\/news\/iowa-casinos-ask-gaming-commission-to-not-approve-license-for-cedar-rapids-casino\/\">the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission overstepped its authority<\/a> and failed to consider the casino\u2019s economic impact when it gave the green light for the proposed facility valued at $275 million. <\/p>\n<div style=\"position:relative;height:0;padding-bottom:56.25%\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ElLtoZ6zqck?rel=0&amp;showinfo=0?ecver=2\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"position:absolute;width:100%;height:100%;left:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Riverside <strong>expects losses of millions as well as up to 200 job cuts<\/strong> if Cedar Crossing Casino &#038; Entertainment Center is allowed to open. <\/p>\n<p>The resort would host 700 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.legitgambling.com\/blog\/how-to-choose-the-best-online-slot-games-to-have-fun\">slot games<\/a>, and more than 20 game tables, along with bars, restaurants, an entertainment venue, an arts and cultural center, and a STEM lab that would accommodate the needs of children. <\/p>\n<p>Nonprofits relying on casino funding could also suffer. Riverside petitioned the court to halt the license.<\/p>\n<h2>Judge Says Riverside Will Not Suffer \u201cIrreparable Injury\u201d<\/h2>\n<p>On Wednesday, Eighth Judicial District <strong>Judge Michael Schilling<\/strong> ruled he had not yet reviewed the case&#8217;s merits, which will be addressed in an April hearing. <\/p>\n<p>The judge acknowledged Riverside\u2019s claim of financial harm but found the gaming commission had considered economic impact studies before granting the license. <\/p>\n<p>He also ruled Riverside would not suffer &#8220;<em>irreparable injury<\/em>&#8221; if a temporary hold on the license was denied.<\/p>\n<p>However, Schilling found Riverside\u2019s argument regarding ballot wording had merit. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linncountyiowa.gov\/DocumentCenter\/View\/16907\/Resolution-2021-7-114-Establishing-a-Date-and-Ballot-Language-for-a-Linn-County-Gambling-Referendum\">2021 measure, Public Measure G<\/a>, asked voters whether gambling &#8220;<em>may continue<\/em>&#8221; in Linn County, yet no license had ever been issued there. <\/p>\n<p>The intent of voters was also questioned by the judge, who mentioned the differences between the wording of the ballot and the decisions made by county officials.<\/p>\n<p>The ballot described permitted gambling as &#8220;<em>games with no wager or loss limits<\/em>&#8220;, but Iowa law allows a broader range of gambling activities. <\/p>\n<p>On February 6, <strong>Gaming Commission Chair Daryl Olsen<\/strong> maintained that legal consultations confirmed the commission\u2019s authority. <\/p>\n<blockquote><p>A majority of the commissioners are satisfied that we have the authority to move forward<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Summary: An Iowa judge has discovered potential flaws in the ballot wording that approved gambling in Linn County. Riverside Casino &#038; Golf Resort argues the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission lacked authority to issue the new casino license. The court chose not to grant a temporary halt to the license. The legal battle over a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,2,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14277","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-casino","category-legislation","category-usa"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Concerns Over Ballot Language in Cedar Rapids Casino Dispute<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"An Iowa judge recently assessed and questioned the wording of a ballot measure that allowed Cedar Crossing Casino &amp; Entertainment Center to obtain a license.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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