The rules about how old you need to be to wager in Iowa and the fact you have to use your own account to bet are already written into state regulations. However, the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission wants operators to take new steps to clearly communicate these rules to users.
The proposed regulations come after dozens of athletes at both Iowa and Iowa State Universities have been implicated in a sports betting scandal.
One proposed rule wants these messages prominently displayed on apps and websites:
(1) Account sharing is prohibited. Each account holder must not share usernames or passwords with other people. Each wager made on an account shall be made by only the registered account holder, and shall not be made on behalf of any other individual.
(2) Persons under the age of 21 are prohibited from wagering. No person shall attempt to circumvent account setup procedures designed to prohibit wagering from individuals under the age of 21. Registered account holders shall not attempt to assist in the placement of a wager by any individual under the age of 21.
There are additional new rules that operators need to demonstrate they can capably establish and maintain a list of prohibited bettors such as coaching staff and athletes.
Finally, there is a proposed rule that bettors must verify their account through multi-factor verification at least once every seven days.
Public comments on the proposed new rule are due on Oct. 10.
The rule comes not only on the heels of the betting scandal but after news that the US Integrity and Odds on Compliance joint venture ProhiBet announced deals with both the Big 12 and the Mountain West conferences. ProhiBet is an example of a tool that uses encrypted lists of athletes and coaching staff provided by the teams and leagues that operators can use to better prohibit restricted bettors from wagering.
