A new event will unfold regarding sports betting across Iowa, the United States, this new year, which was previously announced by the state’s regulatory body. When several laws regarding gambling and getting were passed in 2019, the regulatory body at the state passed a rule that will check mobile sports betting.
The new law will see individuals who wish to begin mobile sports betting on their mobile to register at a strategic location before they are allowed to carry it out. This means that if several people wanted to use the sports betting feature on their mobile phones around Iowa, they would move several kilometers to get to the partner of the casino they wish to bet with.
Governor of Illinois waived the new registration law
The time frame that was announced for registration lapsed on January 1, and several sportsbooks across the state have not yet realized it has expired. Before the new year, customers who bet on FanDuel were asked to complete and verify their registration before the end of the year so they would be eligible to take home a $50 bonus. In the same vein, Wild Rose Resorts also asked its clients to use the window to register with their online partner casino, DraftKings.
Experts in the betting scene across Iowa have shown their displeasure towards the practices enforced across Iowa. Most of them have categorized the rule as taking sports betting across the state one step back compared to other states. However, Iowa is not the only state that asks people to drive in and register before using mobile betting services. A law like that was passed across Illinois, but the state’s governor asked them to waive it off, citing precautions from getting infected with the coronavirus pandemic.
Iowa Gaming chief says window allowed the legislature to pass the bill
According to the Chief of the Iowa Gaming Commission, Wes Ehrecke said that the window granted people to register from last February up till the new year was the time frame needed to pass the law. Looking at several statistics from the sportsbook in the company shows that they do not require people to come in before they would be able to bet using their mobile devices.
Iowa prides on a $99.73 per capita betting handle, a very small figure compared to that of Indiana, which is $139 and $157 for Pennsylvania. During the time frame, the number of people who made a bet on sports in the region was between 69% and 78%. During this same duration, neither Indiana nor Pennsylvania came below 78%. With the sportsbook registration rule in place, some major bookers worldwide have refused to enter the state, citing the registration challenges. Unibet, an integral part of sport betting across the state, has announced that it won’t continue its services in the country.
