August 15th has been declared the official launch date for sports betting in Iowa. 18 casinos were given sports betting licenses by the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission last week, as the state revs up its efforts to be ready for the start of the college football and NFL seasons. If all goes well, the IRGC believes that most casinos in the state will have their brick and mortar sports betting operators ready to roll out by this date.
“For some, it may be a situation where they have kiosks and a few tellers, but it looks like many of them are planning on having something ready on that first day,” said IRGC Administrator, Brian Ohorilko.
It seems that the IRGC is doing all it can to expedite sport betting in 18 casinos, with the knowledge that most local casinos already have measures in place that protect vulnerable individuals and report abnormal betting activity.
Under the terms of the new rules, mobile sports betting and Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) can also go live by the roll out date. However, the mobile process may take a bit longer to become a reality. Online sports betting operators have already applied for permission to partner with Iowa casinos and the state will try to check them all before August 15th. But the state admits that some operators haven’t yet been licensed in the United States and tighter background checks will need to take place.
“It is reasonable to assume that those companies may not get a license right away,” said Ohorilko.
