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Can I offer contests that involve international sports in Iowa? What are the requirements?

Based on the documents provided, you can offer contests that involve international sports in Iowa as long as you comply with the licensing requirements set forth in Iowa Code chapter 99E and rules 491—6.2(99D,99E,99F,252J) to 491—6.13(99D,99F,272D) [1.1].

To obtain a license to conduct internet fantasy sports contests in Iowa, you must complete and sign an application on the form prescribed and published by the commission, submit fingerprints and information deemed necessary by the commission, and undergo a thorough background investigation conducted by the division of criminal investigation of the department of public safety [2.3].

The licensing standards include financial stability, business ability and experience, good character and reputation of the applicant as well as all directors, officers, partners, and employees, and integrity of financial backers [1.1]. The commission will not grant a license to an applicant if there is substantial evidence that any of the following apply: a license issued to the applicant to conduct internet fantasy sports contests in another jurisdiction has been revoked or denied, the applicant has not demonstrated financial responsibility sufficient to meet the requirements of the enterprise proposed, the applicant does not adequately disclose the true owners of the enterprise proposed, the applicant has knowingly made a false statement of a material fact to the commission, the applicant has failed to meet a monetary obligation in connection with conducting an internet fantasy sports contest, the applicant is not of good repute and moral character or has pled guilty to or been convicted of a felony, or any member of the board of directors of the applicant is not 21 years of age or older [1.1][2.3].

Once licensed, internet fantasy sports contest service providers must submit internal controls for the operation of the account, a detailed description and certification of systems and procedures used to validate the identity, age, and location of licensee account holders and to validate the legality of wagers accepted, certification of secure retention of all records related to internet fantasy sports contests and accounts for a period of not less than three years, certification of prompt commission access to all records relating to account holder identity, age, and location, and verification that the player is not on the statewide voluntary self-exclusion list set forth in Iowa Code section 99F.4(22) prior to establishing an account [1.3].

In addition, internet fantasy sports contest service providers must maintain adequate records of business operations, including all correspondence with the administrator and other governmental agencies on the local, state, and federal level, all correspondence between the licensee and any of its customers who are applicants or licensees under Iowa Code chapter 99E, and financial records of all transactions with players and all other licensees under these regulations [1.3].

Fantasy sports contest service providers must also comply with the requirements set forth in Iowa Code chapter 99E and rules 491—6.2(99D,99E,99F,252J) to 491—6.13(99D,99F,272D) [1.1], including but not limited to the following:

  • Internet fantasy sports contests are authorized when conducted by a licensed internet fantasy sports contest service provider [2.1].
  • A person under the age of twenty-one years shall not enter an internet fantasy sports contest [2.2].
  • Licensees shall submit a description of internal controls to the administrator, including controls and reasonable methods that comply with and provide for: prevention of employees of the internet fantasy sports contest service provider and relatives living in the same household of such employees from competing in any internet fantasy sports contest on the service provider’s digital platform in which the service provider offers a prize to the public, verification that any fantasy sports contest player is 21 years of age or older, restriction of entries from coaches, officials, athletes, contestants, or other individuals who participate in a game or contest that is the subject of an internet fantasy sports contest in which the outcome is determined, in whole or in part, by the accumulated statistical results of a team of individuals in the game or contest in which they participate, an easy and obvious method for a player to make a complaint and to enable the player to notify the commission if such complaint has not been or cannot be resolved by the licensee, measures used to determine the true identity, date of birth, and address of each player seeking to open an account, standards and procedures used to monitor fantasy sports contests to detect the use of unauthorized scripts and restrict players found to have used such scripts from further fantasy sports contests, prevention of unauthorized withdrawals from a registered player’s account by the service provider or others, how the service provider will accept wagers within the permitted boundary, how the service provider will segregate fantasy sports contest player funds from operational funds, and protection of a fantasy sports contestant’s personal and private information [1.2].
  • Fantasy sports contest service providers shall segregate all fantasy sports contest player funds from operational funds and maintain a reserve in the form of cash, cash equivalents, an irrevocable letter of credit, payment processor reserves and receivables, a bond, or a combination thereof in the amount of the deposits in internet fantasy sports contest player accounts [1.4].

If you meet these requirements, you should be able to offer contests that involve international sports in Iowa.

Source(s):
Jurisdiction

Iowa