Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission fines Lakeside Casino
The casino has received a $40,000 penalty for allowing two minors to access the gaming space.
US.- The Lakeside Casino, in Osceola, Iowa, has received a $40,000 penalty for separate incidents in which minors accessed the gambling floor. The fine was issued by the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission.
The incidents at the Iowa venue took place in January. One involved a 12-year-old who accessed the gaming floor with his mother. The second case involved a 14-year-old who entered the casino with her mother and played on a slot machine.
Lakeside general manager David Monroe told the commission: “The incidents that occurred in January are the result of a couple of employees failing to follow the training and guidelines they had committed to. In both instances, the minors would not have gained access if the employees and just to even a marginal job.”
Commission member Allen Ostergren said: “But I can tell you and I want to tell other licensees, had there not been this level of remedial measures taken, I would have, I would have had a very hard time agreeing to just this kind of financial penalty, it would have been a lot more or something that would have hurt a lot more.”
Last week, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCC) approved two consent agreements presented by the Board’s Office of Enforcement Counsel (OEC). The fines total $45,000. Mountainview Thoroughbred Racing Association, operator of Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course in Dauphin County, received a $40,000 fine. Lightning Gaming, a slot machine manufacturer headquartered in Delaware County, received a $5,000 fine for failure to notify the board of material changes.
Iowa sports betting handle climbs to $255.3 in October
Iowa’s sports betting handle was $255.3 in October, up 6.9 per cent from October 2022 and 3.9 per cent from September this year ($245.8m). Some $231.8m was wagered online and the remaining $23.5m with retail sportsbooks. It was the most spent since a record $303.3m in January 2022.
According to the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission, revenue reached $24.2m, up 26.7 per cent from last year and marginally higher than September this year. Online sports betting accounted for $21.1m and retail wagering $3m. Sports betting tax for October reached $1.6m, with players winning $225.3m.
