The Iowa Gaming Association recently asked the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission to review lifetime gambling bans, particularly in regard to penalties, since changes in the self-ban law will take effect July 1. Commission Administrator Brian Ohorilko said, “The new law essentially allows individuals to sign up to participate on that list for five years. Currently the only option for folks to sign up to stay out of a casino was for a lifetime ban.”
The new law also allows individuals on the lifetime ban list to request removal from the list. Supporters said more people may sign up for the self-ban if the length of the term is shorter.
Ohorilko said a subcommittee of the IRGC will meet with casino operators to review the new law, in terms of violations and penalties. He noted several situations currently are considered self-ban list violations. “For example, if a casino were to pay out a jackpot of someone that is on that list, that is a violation. If a casino were to send marketing material to somebody on that list, that is a violation,” he said.
Regarding penalties assessed to casinos, Ohorilko said, “The penalties associated with those range from $3,000 to $20,000. It depends on the number of times that any particular casino has had an incident within the past 365 days.”
Ohorilko said the subcommittee will make recommendations to the full commission at the commission’s July 13 meeting.
