Casinos operators in the state of Iowa face annual audits each year of the gaming facility operations. The information derived from the audit is released to the public and a group of operators wants to see this info remain confidential.

There are currently 19 casinos that are state-regulated operations in Iowa. Out of this number, 16 venues have joined a lawsuit that challenges the release of the financial records from the annual audits, according to the Des Moines Register. According to reports, the lawsuit was filed after a developer executive requested the documents, someone who operates three Michigan Native American casinos.

According to Wes Ehrecke, the President of the Iowa Gaming Association, the audits include trade secrets that should not be made public knowledge. Ehrecke feels that while regulators should be provided with the information, the competitors should not. For almost 30 years now, the reports have been public knowledge and used to gauge the health of the gaming industry.

In 2015, reports showed that the casinos paid over $312 million in gambling taxes and provided close to $40 million to charitable organizations. Those who receive contributions as part of the charitable donations from the gaming venues or from taxes provided have a genuine interest in the financial report information.

Wild Rose is a casino company operating three casinos in Iowa who decided not to join the lawsuit. The company claims that some of the information provided in the reports is already made public via the filings within the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and public transparency has served the state without being harmful to the casinos.