Iowa gambling regulators recently hit DraftKings, and several other operators, with fines and warnings for failing to properly maintain legally mandated self-exclusion lists. But the big-time national sports betting operator and its fellow self-exclusion slackers suffered only a slap on the wrist for their failure to comply with Iowa rules and regulations.
DraftKings’ Iowa trouble actually dates back to some sloppy compliance that actually occurred at the beginning of 2020 (remember those days?). According to several published reports, the company’s compliance department was completely asleep at the wheel when the January deadline for updating the self-exclusion list rolled around. Iowa, like most places in the world, allows problem gamblers to ban themselves from casinos and sportsbooks in an exercise in self-protection.
These lists must be updated regularly and compliance issues like this are big deal for operators around the world. Allowing self-excluded players to set up new accounts is a common violation, which speaks more to the veracity of problem gamblers than to the quality of various compliance operations.
Fortunately for DraftKings, and the Rhythm City Casino and the Diamond Jo Casino, the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission (IRGC) was in a benevolent mood and only issued fines of $5,000 for the violations. “DraftKings agreed to a stipulated agreement in the amount of five to 20-thousand dollars. The Commission reviewed the facts and set the penalty at $5,000,” said Brian Ohorilko, the IRGC administrator.
Of course $5,000 is an absolutely nothing amount of cash for the continuously booming DraftKings, regulators do take these sorts of issues seriously and, should there be a next violation, the fine is likely going to be a whole lot higher.