An Iowa casino was smacked with a five-figure fine by the state’s gambling watchdog for letting a teenager gamble and drink alcohol on its gambling floor.
Local news outlets reported earlier this week that documents from the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission showed that the regulator has fined Prairie Meadows Racetrack and Casino in Altoona for an incident that took place back in April.
The gambling venue was ordered to pay $20,000 for letting a 19-year-old man gamble and order alcohol on the casino floor without being asked for identification. The underage patron gambled for more than an hour during his visit. Under Iowa law, the legal age for gambling and drinking alcohol is 21.
This is the second time Prairie Meadows has been fined for age verification failure over the past year. The property was slapped another $20,000 fine by the state’s gambling regulator for letting a 20-year-old woman enter the casino without asking her to show her ID. After being allowed to enter the gaming floor “unchallenged”, the young woman “for over three hours, gambled and consumed alcohol.” The incident occurred in July 2018.
Prairie Meadows’ gaming floor occupies an 85,000-square-foot area of the gambling and racing complex. The casino features more than 1,700 slot machines and a number of table games. Since earlier this month, Prairie Meadows has also been offering sports betting, following the recent legalization and regulation of the practice in Iowa.
Sports Betting at Prairie Meadows
Iowa became the 11th state to launch regulated sports betting after last year’s SCOTUS ruling that annulled a federal ban on the practice. Under state gambling law, bettors can now place bets on professional and college sports as well as on international sports.
Prairie Meadows debuted its William Hill-branded sportsbook in mid-August to tap into the lucrative sports betting space. The betting facility spreads over 8,600 square feet and its construction was completed only recently.
Six of Iowa’s 19 casinos have gone live with sports betting since the legalization of the practice, but all of them are expected to add athletic wagering to their offering.
Last week, William Hill, which currently has four operational sportsbooks in the state, including the one at Prairie Meadows, released an Iowa-facing a mobile betting app. The app is now available to both iOS and Android users. Iowa has been the ninth state where William Hill’s US sports betting division has been authorized to provide its services since the company entered the nation in 2012 with multiple sportsbooks across Nevada, the only state that was allowed to offer sports betting prior the PASPA strikedown last year.
Under Iowa law, the local sportsbooks are banned from taking bets on college games involving Iowa teams. The state’s betting facilities are set to pay a 6.75% tax on their revenue. Local bettors are required to register an account with a sportsbook in person in order to be able to place mobile bets.
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