Iowa attempts to crack down on proxy sports betting

Officials in Iowa are aiming to crack down on proxy sports betting to stop “the public from falling victim to deceptive practices”. Proxy betting involves gambling on behalf of someone else by sharing account information. Iowa’s state Senate Judiciary Committee recently approved legislation that would outlaw such actions.

Senate Study Bill 1097 will now go to the full chamber for approval as the state’s attempts gather momentum. The Iowa Department of Public Safety has had a busy start to 2025, with House Study Bill 21 also progressing. Both would help make account sharing and proxy gambling illegal. Individuals caught would be at risk of fines and even jail time.

What the Department of Public Safety has said on the changes

A January memo from the Iowa Department of Public Safety was clear that while proxy betting and account sharing have always been prohibited, there are now potential criminal repercussions. Speaking on the news, Legislative Liaison for the Public Safety Department, Josie Wagler, stated:

“We’ve seen a prevalence in account sharing and proxy betting taking place, and a lot of those activities lead to money laundering, identity theft, underage gambling, and fraud. So with this addition of proxy betting and account sharing to illegal gaming, we feel like we can get a little bit better handle on those two issues that we’re seeing here in Iowa.”

What is proxy betting & account sharing?

Proxy betting has grown alongside the sports betting industry as a whole. This is since it was legalized in 2019. Steps have now been taken for the state to catch up with this level of growth. Iowa defines account sharing as “entering into or participating in an agreement between two or more persons to, either temporarily or permanently, share access to a person’s account with the purpose of concealing a person’s identity.”

This is compared to proxy betting, which is defined as: “any wagering or betting activity, including a request of another to engage in wagering or betting activity, involving two or more persons, where one person places a wager on behalf of another person with the intent to hide or conceal the bettor’s identity.”

The likes of FanDuel and DraftKings prohibit betting using someone else’s account, with proxy gambling remaining a grey area outside of Nevada. Massachusetts is following in Iowa’s footsteps. The state’s sports betting laws mean that operators must work hard to “prohibit persons from placing wagers as agents or proxies for others.”

The latest updates have not gone down well in all areas. This is demonstrated by the Tweet below:

Not a wise policy being pursued in Iowa: criminalizing proxy betting

If operators don't want it they can handle it in their T&Cs & ban people (most do)

But states have a compelling interest to get more betting liquidity into the regulated market https://t.co/GSyiSX7Mdf

— Joe Brennan Jr (@joebrennanjr) January 16, 2025

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