House Study Bill Filed In Iowa Would Make Proxy Betting A Felony

A House Study Bill to ban proxy betting for both casino gaming and sports wagering in Iowa was filed with the state legislature this week.

HSB21 was steered to the Public Safety Committee and will be heard for the first time there next Thursday. The bill, which has no primary sponsor or author listed, defines both account sharing and proxy betting as a means of making them illegal and makes it a criminal activity that could range from a serious misdemeanor to a “Class C” felony based on the sum of money or value of property involved as well as the number of offenses.

The Iowa Department of Public Safety submitted a pre-file bill to the state’s Legislative Services Agency in support of the bill, stating the vast growth in sports betting in the Hawkeye State has “created a new platform for fraudulent activity, such as account sharing and proxy betting.”

It further noted that fraud, money laundering, and underage betting are associated with proxy betting, and “the prevalence of account sharing further emphasizes the need to strengthen the laws to prevent these methods of wagering.”

Of the seven lobbyist declarations listed attached to the bill, the Iowa Department of Public Safety is the only proponent of the bill. The other six have yet to declare their support or opposition.

Trying to safeguard against a repeat of 2023?

The state of Iowa endured a sports betting scandal in 2023 when more than three dozen student-athletes at both the University of Iowa and Iowa State University were charged with underage gambling the year prior. The incident, though, is equally remembered for a lawsuit filed by some of the student-athletes alleging a state law enforcement agent conducted a warrantless search in gathering information for those charges. Some student-athletes recently adjusted their lawsuit to potentially streamline the process.

Proxy betting is most prevalent in Nevada, where NFL pick ’em contests are conducted and bettors from all over the United States compete. Since the wagers have to be placed in Nevada, out-of-region bettors will often use proxy services to make those wagers on their behalf for an agreed upon fee.

Circa Sports, which conducts mobile sports betting in Iowa, runs the largest such pick ’em contest in Nevada, but it has never announced plans to run similar contests in any other state where it conducts wagering.

Iowa sportsbooks accepted nearly $2.8 billion worth of wagers in 2024, up 14.5% from the previous year. Operator revenue increased 9.9% year-over-year to an all-time high of $218.5 million in 2024.