The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission (IRGC) has fined online sportsbook FanDuel $125,000 for five violations of state laws.
The biggest fine was $30,000, which related to failures to implement responsible gambling measures; additional fines were issued for accepting bets on markets that are not legal in Iowa.
The IRGC determined that the sports betting platform’s responsible gambling tools were inactive or unavailable to users when needed. The remainder of the fines related to accepting bets on markets on the Super Bowl, soccer, golf, and the Olympics.
One of the violations involved only $330 in wagers, another was pulled before it was used, around $89,000 was bet on unapproved golf markets, and $62,000 was bet on Olympic markets.
FanDuel spokesman Ben Roth spoke on behalf of the company at an IRGC hearing on Friday and said bettors had been refunded on the markets. Roth stated, “FanDuel has addressed each issue by ensuring that no impacted customer has been adversely affected by these issues and FanDuel has disgorged itself of any resulting revenue as a result of these.”
Iowa sports betting regulations limit betting to approved events on mainstream sports. Partial-season events, niche matches, or prop bets require special approval, and regular wagering on these markets is not permitted.
Commission Says It Expects More From FanDuel
In a hearing on Friday, Commission chair Daryle Olsen criticized FanDuel for taking too long to report the issue, and also said he expected better of one of the state’s leading operators.
In comments reported by Radio Iowa, Olsen stated, “Five counts within a very short period of time is just too much, you know, and so and I know they’re dealing with a big volume. I believe FanDuel is our number two operator in the state. But we just expect more.”
Olsen emphasized that the IRGC will enforce the same rules on online operators as it does on the state’s brick-and-mortar casinos. He went on to say, “I think in fairness, the Commission has to look at how we treat our out of state operators versus our brick and mortar casinos, because we need to be consistent and that’s all we’re trying to do. We expect more.”
With FanDuel operating in a large number of states with different regulations and rules, Olsen believes it is the Commission’s job to keep them informed in order to prevent future violations. “I think our our job is to tell them what we expect, lay out the concerns, and then hopefully they go back and fix it and we don’t have to deal with this again,” he said.
FanDuel Vows To Improve And Invests In RG Research
FanDuel accepted the fines and vowed to improve its practices. Roth said, “We take responsibility for the matters represented in the settlement before the Commission today and understand that we did not meet the high standard that we hold for ourselves.”
He went on to add that the company is implementing change to ensure that repeat offenses do not occur. “In response to the issues before you today, FanDuel has worked to remediate the various root causes through a combination of manual remediation efforts.”
In terms of the responsible gambling failures, he said the company will implement more training for staff as well as using automated systems to prevent manual errors. He added that FanDuel has implemented “increased training, more detailed checklists and runbooks for the deployment of content and of course, automation wherever possible to avoid the potential for manual error.”
As part of its responsible gambling measures, FanDuel recently invested in research into how problem gambling affects the military. Commenting on the program, Cory Fox, VP of Public Policy and Sustainability at FanDuel, stated, “Problem gambling disproportionately impacts our military communities and has life‑altering impacts on service members who do not receive treatment.
“We’re proud to stand with an industry coalition to ask that we support our service members and their families by adding gambling addiction as an eligible research topic in the Peer‑Reviewed Medical Research Program.”
The company invested over $100 million in responsible gambling programs last year.
FanDuel Facing Lawsuits Over Responsible Gambling Failures
FanDuel has also faced criticism and legal challenges over its failure to protect players. The city of Baltimore filed a lawsuit against the company and DraftKings over accusations that the companies were misleading players with their promotions.
Additionally, the ex-finance manager for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Amit Patel, filed a lawsuit against the company last year over claims that the platform facilitated his $20 million+ gambling binge through aggressive VIP engagement, despite his restricted eligibility.
Adam is an experienced writer with years of experience in the gambling industry. He has worked as a content writer and editor for five years on sites such as Oddschecker, CoinTelegraph and Gambling Industry News, bringing excellent knowledge of the world of sports betting and online gambling. Adam focuses on emerging stories in the ever changing landscape of betting in the US. Read the latest on prediction markets, changing legislation, and sweepstakes.
