Iowa to regulate lifetime ban for gamblers

A new bill in Iowa would allow a problem gambler to enter a gaming floor five years after the initial ban was issued.

US.- Iowa passed a legislation last week that would allow problem gamblers to enter a gaming floor five years after the initial issuance of a gambling ban. After that period, gamblers can ban themselves from casinos again.

According to Iowa Public Radio, Senator Robie Smith, R-Davenport, said that behavioral health specialists claimed that a lifetime ban scares problem gamblers from taking a first step towards help. “When you do that people don’t want to sign up for any ban because it’s forever, and the whole point of this legislation was to get people to sign up and get the help they need,” he said.

This new legislation would allow a person to re-enter a gaming floor after five years and they would be subject to a renewable ban every five years since the initial date, or a lifetime ban.

Senator Rob Hogg, D-Cedar Rapids, asked Smith if this bill considered that a person who was okay with being lifetime banned from gambling could enter a gambling facility after five years, and the latter answered that behavioral specialists gave their full support to this bill. Lobbyist Amy Campbell agreed with Smith and said: “After much discussion we have decided to support this bill which we believe will help connect more Iowans with treatment.”