Iowa gambling laws have fostered a substantial land-based casino industry. Iowa has 19 brick-and-mortar casinos, which is a lot for the state ranked 31st in population size. Iowa has three racinos, a state lottery which embraces Mega Millions and Powerball, and a large charitable gambling sector. Since 2017, Iowa has simulcasting and off-track betting. Then, in 2019, the Iowa legislature legalized and regulated sports betting — a sign the current legislature is ready to pass more gaming laws.
We’ve listed our favorite casinos, sportsbooks and poker sites accepting players from Iowa below. Pick a site and start playing!
Iowa’s online casino gamblers can sign up at offshore casino websites. These won’t be regulated by Iowa officials, but they are licensed, regulated, and audited by a respected international gaming agency. To find the legitimate online casino operators, you’ll need to read unbiased reviews. Start your research by reading through our long list of online casino reviews.
Yes. Iowa legalized sports betting in June 2019 and it went live in August 2019. Online sportsbooks followed in December 2019. Most Iowan sports bettors still wager at offshore online sportsbooks. Law enforcement doesn’t punish individuals who wager at offshore bookmaker sites, though you can now wager using licensed sportsbook apps.
Iowa has legalized land-based casinos, racetracks, charitable gambling, lottery ticket sales and — as of 2019 — sports betting. Despite a few idiosyncratic laws involving illegal gambling, Iowa lawmakers stay firmly in the mainstream of American statutes when it comes to gambling. Online gambling is a different matter. Despite attempts in 2012, 2013, and 2018, online poker is unlikely to be legalized anytime soon. An attempt to combine a sports betting and online gambling bill in 2019 failed, but a sports betting law was passed. Law enforcement still doesn’t prosecute residents who engage in betting on offshore gaming sites.
Yes, though you can’t play in a regulated online poker room yet. Iowa has not legalized online poker, but law enforcement doesn’t prosecute players who join offshore online poker sites. In 2012, the Iowa Senate passed Senate File 2275 by a margin of 29-20, but the bill failed in the General Assembly. In 2015, the Senate Study Bill 1068 was introduced. Eventually, SSB 1068’s sponsors realized the Republican-controlled legislature would vote down the bill, so they let it die in committee. In 2015, the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission (IRGC) approved a study which showed that online gambling would generate $13 million a year in revenue for the state government. The IRGC report failed to win support, so no bill was introduced until 2018. An attempt to pass online gambling failed in 2018. On January 15, 2019, The Gazette of Iowa City published an op-ed article by Adam Sullivan which made the case for Iowa to legalize online poker. Sullivan pointed out it is unlikely to happen, because of the large number of land-based casino operators in the state. It’s counter-intuitive, but land-based casinos often oppose online gambling, because they think customers will stay home to play online poker and spend less than they would in their casinos.
Bovada is our recommendation for Iowa bettors who want an online sportsbook. Bovada offers a $250 welcome bonus for new depositors, while offering a full range of US-friendly online sports betting markets. Mobile bettors receive live betting odds and constant updates throughout the day. If you want to wager using a regulated sports betting app, the options are DraftKings Sportsbook, PointsBet, Hard Rock Sioux City Sportsbook, Q Casino Sportsbook, and the Elite Casinos sportsbook.
Ignition is the best choice among online casinos for Iowa gamblers. Ignition offers a $2,000 welcome bonus for new depositors ($3,000 via Bitcoin). With fantastic game variety, quick payouts and a tiered loyalty programme, Ignition is top class when it comes to casino offerings.
Ignition Poker is our choice for an Iowan online cardroom. Join for up to a $1,500 welcome bonus and select from a full schedule of freezeouts, sit-n-go’s, turbo events, and jackpot sit-n-go’s (for mobile players).
The gambling age for pari-mutuel wagering and charitable bingo is 18 or older in Iowa. The minimum age is 21 for land-based casinos. Online gambling sites require bettors to be 18.
Iowa gambling laws do not distinguish between a player and an operator. The law does distinguish between the amount of wagering taking place, which obviously means operators tend to be more liable. High rollers are punished more in Iowa than most states, though.
Iowa passed legal and licensed sports betting on May 13, 2019. Sports wagering began throughout Iowa on August 15. Players have to travel to a land-based casino to prove age and identity, which allows them to bet on-site or on a mobile sports betting app for Android or iPhone.
A person shall not do any of the following:
Almost any form of unregulated gambling is considered illegal, similar to Illinois and Indiana. In fact, Iowa’s definition of gambling is somewhat more expansive. Not only is risking a sum of money or other property gambling, but also giving or accepting anything of value (to make a wager) for a fee is considered gambling. This stipulation covers numbers running, but also would cover fees charged by poker clubs.
Presumably, Section 725.7 could be applied to online gambling sites. If a poker site, online sportsbook, or online casino charged fees of any kind and then offered gambling, it would fall under provisions of the law. In Iowa, players face charges of illegal gambling in “four degrees”. The more you wager, the higher your sentence. Gambling over $5000 is illegal gambling in the 1st degree. Wagering between $501 and $5000 is gambling in the 2nd degree. Betting between $101 and $500 is gambling in the 3rd degree, while risking $100 or less is considered gambling in the 4th degree.
In 2015, the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission (IRGC) approved a study which showed that online gambling would generate $13 million a year in revenue for the state government. The IRGC report failed to win support, so no bill was introduced until 2018. An attempt to pass online gambling failed in 2018, but might be on the table in 2021, due to the inclusion of a sports betting bill that would allow Iowa’s casinos to operate sportsbooks.
On January 15, 2019, The Gazette published an op-ed article by Adam Sullivan which made the case for Iowa to legalize online poker. Sullivan pointed out it is unlikely to happen, because of the large number of land-based casino operators in the state. It’s counterintuitive, but land-based casinos often oppose online gambling, because they think customers will stay home to play online poker and spend less than they would in their casinos.
In the case of Iowa, the land-based casino operators largely supported the sports betting and online gambling bill — but it failed anyway. Adam Sullivan wrote, “There was an unsuccessful bill in the Iowa Legislature last year (2018) to authorize sports betting in-person and online, after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a federal statute that strictly limited states’ sports betting programs. Gaming lobbyists supported that bill, since it would have put the new system under control of existing licensees.”
Yes. As noted above, charitable organizations can offer social gaming for fundraising purposes. Poker nights are acceptable if the organizer is licensed, while amusement devices are acceptable if those devices are registered. Iowa has an accepting stance towards most forms of gambling and social gaming is no different.
A social gambling license is required to host social gambling events. Small stakes card games and “parlor games” are allowed. The list of accepted social gambling games includes darts, billiards, poker, gin rummy, pinochle, cribbage, euchre, pepper (bid euchre), pitch, and hearts. If the gaming venue has a beer permit or a liquor license, it also can conduct sports betting pools.
Those with social gambling licenses cannot offer certain forms of charitable gambling. The list includes bingo, raffles, bookmaking (single-game sports bets), roll of the day, poker tournaments, poker runs, or casino-style games other than poker.
Readers might be confused about the allowance of small stakes poker above, but the banning of poker tournaments and poker runs. The distinction is between small, single-table poker games and freezeout tournaments with big prize pools and large fields of entrants. “Poker runs” require people to drive to 5 to 7 venues (usually on a motorcycle) to pick up a playing card for either draw poker or seven-card stud. Poker events which require multiple venues are banned for social gambling license holders.
Online social casinos like Double Down, Zynga, and Slotomania are available in Iowa. Big Fish Games accepts Iowa residents. MyVegas from MGM Resorts and Mohegan Sun Beyond offer free-to-play casino gaming. Players even can win comps and other rewards at MGM Resorts or Mohegan Sun land-based casinos through freeplay gaming online.
Iowa has more than its share of land-based casinos. It has 19 brick-and-mortar casinos, including tribal and commercial gaming operations. Iowa also has one horse track casino and one dog track casino, for a total of 21 land-based casino operations in the state.
Yes. Prairie Meadows Racetrack Casino in Altoona, Horseshoe Casino in Council Bluffs, and Q Casino & Hotel in Dubuque are the three racinos in the state.
Prairie Meadows began as a horse track, while Horseshoe Casino and Q Casino began as greyhound parks, though racing is no longer available at Horseshoe. Casino gambling now is the main driver of revenue at each racino these days
Yes. Starting in 2017, Iowa’s legislature allowed simulcasting and off-track betting at facilities like Wild Rose Casino & Resort in Clinton and the Meskwaki Bingo Casino Hotel at Tama.
Races from famous US venues like Santa Anita Park, Aqueduct, Oak Lawn, and Keeneland are available in simulcasts with racebook betting. The racetrack casinos have off-track betting, as well.
Yes. The Social and Charitable Gambling Unit administers charitable gambling in Iowa according to provisions of Iowa Code Chapter 99B.
Licensed educational, public, charitable, civic, religious, and patriotic organizations can conduct charitable gambling for fundraising purposes. Those organizations can offer games of skill or games of chance, including bingo nights, raffles, social gambling (poker nights), and amusement devices.