Earlier this month, the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission gave fines to two casinos and a sportsbook for violating state gambling laws. Each entity must pay $20,000 for the infractions.
Horseshoe Council Bluffs Casino violated a self-exclusion regulation. Diamond Jo Worth Casino allowed an underage player to gamble. Rush Street Interactive sportsbook allowed people to fund their accounts from their credit cards.
Casinos must have staff on hand to enroll players in the self-exclusion program
Iowa has a whopping 23 commercial and tribal casinos, and most of them have sportsbooks. Iowa online casinos, however, are still not legal, as the only online gambling allowed is sports betting and sweepstakes casinos like RealPrize that do not use real money.
The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission (IRGC) ruled that in April 2022, Horseshoe Council Bluffs Casino violated a self-exclusion regulation. An individual who spent some time gambling at the casino later approached a security officer with a request to enroll in the self-exclusion program. The officer told the customer there was no staff present at the time for enrollment. They suggested the customer visit a different casino to sign up.
Iowa gambling regulations require casinos to have staff available to assist anyone wishing to enroll in the self-exclusion program.
The IRGC manages a program for players to voluntarily exclude themselves from betting. Once signed up, a player can’t gamble at licensed casinos, racetracks, sportsbooks or fantasy sports operators. It also excludes the person from entering the gaming area of casinos or racetracks.
All licensed casinos must also remove excluded players from marketing lists and must deactivate club memberships and online accounts.
Casinos must keep underage people from playing
Diamond Jo Worth Casino in Northwood must pay $20,000 for allowing an underage player to gamble.
According to the IRGC, in May 2022, an underage player was gambling for more than two hours. Security workers did not ask for the person’s identification.
Iowa law restricts anyone under the age of 21 from entering gaming or wagering areas.
Sports bettors can’t fund accounts with credit cards
The IRGC fined online sportsbook Rush Street Interactive for allowing people to fund their accounts with their credit cards. Rush Street was one of six companies given fines for violating Iowa law.
The companies used a payment processing company that allowed the use of credit cards. Supposedly, the company accepted 42 credit card transactions, with nearly $10,000 added to customer accounts.
