Iowa § 99F.15 - 99F.15 Prohibited activities — penalties.

§ 99F.15. 99F.15 Prohibited activities — penalties.

1. A person is guilty of an aggravated misdemeanor for any of the following: a. Operating a gambling excursion where wagering is used or to be used without a license issued by the commission. b. Operating a gambling excursion where wagering is permitted other than in the manner specified by section 99F.9. c. Acting, or employing a person to act, as a shill or decoy to encourage participation in a gambling game or sports wagering. 2. A person knowingly permitting a person under the age of twenty-one years to make a wager is guilty of a simple misdemeanor. 3. A person wagering or accepting a wager at any location outside an excursion gambling boat, gambling structure, or a racetrack enclosure is in violation of section 725.7. 4. A person commits a class “D” felony and, in addition, shall be barred for life from excursion gambling boats and gambling structures under the jurisdiction of the commission, if the person does any of the following: a. Offers, promises, or gives anything of value or benefit to a person who is connected with an excursion gambling boat or gambling structure operator including, but not limited to, an officer or employee of a licensee or holder of an occupational license pursuant to an agreement or arrangement or with the intent that the promise or thing of value or benefit will influence the actions of the person to whom the offer, promise, or gift was made in order to affect or attempt to affect the outcome of a gambling game, or to influence official action of a member of the commission. b. Solicits or knowingly accepts or receives a promise of anything of value or benefit while the person is connected with an excursion gambling boat or gambling structure including, but not limited to, an officer or employee of a licensee, or holder of an occupational license, pursuant to an understanding or arrangement or with the intent that the promise or thing of value or benefit will influence the actions of the person to affect or attempt to affect the outcome of a gambling game, or to influence official action of a member of the commission. c. Uses a device to assist in any of the following: (1) In projecting the outcome of the game. (2) In keeping track of the cards played. (3) In analyzing the probability of the occurrence of an event relating to the gambling game. (4) In analyzing the strategy for playing or betting to be used in the game except as permitted by the commission. d. Cheats at a gambling game, including but not limited to committing any act which alters the outcome of the game, or cheats at sports wagering. e. Manufactures, sells, or distributes any cards, chips, dice, game or device which is intended to be used to violate any provision of this chapter. f. Instructs a person in cheating or in the use of a device for that purpose with the knowledge or intent that the information or use conveyed may be employed to violate any provision of the chapter. g. Alters or misrepresents the outcome of a gambling game on which wagers have been made after the outcome is made sure but before it is revealed to the players. h. Claims, collects, or takes, or attempts to claim, collect, or take, money or anything of value in or from the gambling games or sports wagering, with intent to defraud, without having made a wager contingent on winning a gambling game or sports wager, or claims, collects, or takes an amount of money or thing of value of greater value than the amount won. i. Knowingly entices or induces a person to go to any place where a gambling game or sports wagering is being conducted or operated in violation of the provisions of this chapter with the intent that the other person plays or participates in that gambling game or sports wagering. j. Uses counterfeit chips or tokens in a gambling game. k. Knowingly uses, other than chips, tokens, coin, or other methods or credit approved Wed Dec 10 22:38:07 2025 Iowa Code 2026, Section 99F.15 (30, 0) §99F.15, GAMBLING GAMES AND SPORTS WAGERING REGULATION 2 by the commission, legal tender of the United States of America, or uses coin not of the denomination as the coin intended to be used in the gambling games. l. Has in the person’s possession any device intended to be used to violate a provision of this chapter. m. Has in the person’s possession, except a gambling licensee or employee of a gambling licensee acting in furtherance of the employee’s employment, any key or device designed for the purpose of opening, entering, or affecting the operation of a gambling game, drop box, or an electronic or mechanical device connected with the gambling game or for removing coins, tokens, chips or other contents of a gambling game. n. Knowingly or intentionally passes a winning wager or share to another person or provides fraudulent identification in order to avoid the forfeiture of any money or thing of value as a voluntarily excluded person pursuant to the processes established under section 99F.4, subsection 22. o. Knowingly or intentionally passes a winning wager or share to another person or provides fraudulent identification in order to avoid the application of a setoff as provided in section 99F.19. 5. The possession of more than one of the devices described in subsection 4, paragraphs “c”, “e”, “l”, or “m”, permits a rebuttable inference that the possessor intended to use the devices for cheating. 6. a. A person who places, removes, increases, or decreases a bet after acquiring knowledge of the outcome of the gambling game which is the subject of the bet or who aids a person in acquiring the knowledge for the purpose of placing, removing, increasing, or decreasing a bet contingent on that outcome commits the offense of unlawful betting. b. (1) A person is guilty of a class “D” felony if the person commits the offense of unlawful betting where the potential winnings from the bet exceed one thousand dollars in value. (2) A person is guilty of an aggravated misdemeanor if the person commits the offense of unlawful betting where the potential winnings from the bet exceed five hundred dollars in value but do not exceed one thousand dollars in value. (3) A person is guilty of a serious misdemeanor if the person commits the offense of unlawful betting where the potential winnings from the bet exceed two hundred dollars in value but do not exceed five hundred dollars in value. (4) A person is guilty of a simple misdemeanor if the person commits the offense of unlawful betting where the potential winnings from the bet do not exceed two hundred dollars in value. c. Two convictions of the offense of unlawful betting as provided in this subsection shall result in the person being barred for life from excursion gambling boats and gambling structures under the jurisdiction of the commission. 7. Except for wagers on gambling games or exchanges for money as provided in section 99F.9, subsection 3, a licensee who exchanges tokens, chips, or other forms of credit to be used on gambling games for anything of value commits a simple misdemeanor. 89 Acts, ch 67, §15; 89 Acts, ch 139, §9; 91 Acts, ch 144, §2; 94 Acts, ch 1021, §27, 28; 2007 Acts, ch 188, §17 – 19; 2014 Acts, ch 1026, §138; 2015 Acts, ch 44, §1 – 3; 2016 Acts, ch 1073, §30; 2019 Acts, ch 132, §18, 19, 22, 23; 2022 Acts, ch 1143, §7 Referred to in §99F.4, 99F.19 Wed Dec 10 22:38:07 2025 Iowa Code 2026, Section 99F.15 (30, 0)