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Iowa regulators fined FanDuel Sportsbook $95,000 after the operator accepted bets on two markets that lacked state approval. The penalty covered soccer card wagers and a game from a Philippine basketball league.
Good to Know
- Iowa requires sportsbook operators to use a state-approved event and wager catalog.
- Bets involving referee or umpire decisions remain prohibited.
- FanDuel had received earlier penalties for unauthorized Iowa betting markets.
FanDuel Fine Covers Soccer Cards and Philippine Basketball
The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission imposed the fine after FanDuel offered wagers on yellow and red cards during soccer matches.
“You can’t wager on decisions made by an umpire or referee in the state, and so one of their counts involved a case where they offered wagers on yellow and red cards and soccer,” commission administrator Tina Eick said.
Iowa also found that FanDuel accepted bets on an unauthorized overseas basketball game.
“And then another count involved offering a league that was not authorized; in this particular case, it happened to be Filipino basketball,” Eick said.
Iowa maintains a detailed list of approved leagues, events and wager types. An operator must request commission approval before adding anything outside that catalog. The latest list also bars individual player proposition bets involving an Iowa college team or athlete.
Regulators applied a larger penalty because FanDuel had previously offered impermissible wagers in Iowa. Eick said the commission wanted to send a “strong message.”
Iowa Betting Rules Limit Easily Controlled Outcomes
Iowa does not allow bets that one person can settle through a single action. Examples include whether the first baseball pitch will be a ball or strike.
“Those just are integrity issues and have the potential for manipulation, and so we steer clear of those,” Eick said. “But beyond those things, involving referees and the calls that they make are also off limits.”
The same policy explains the ban on soccer card markets. A referee directly controls whether a yellow or red card gets issued, creating a different integrity risk from a wager on the final match result.
Sportsbooks also cannot offer odds on minor-league events in Iowa. The restriction covers teams such as the Iowa Cubs, Cedar Rapids Kernels and Quad Cities River Bandits.
Novel wagers and proposition markets require prior approval. Past Iowa enforcement has included penalties over unauthorized college basketball player bets and other impermissible sports markets.
Iowa sports wagering revenue reached about $285 million during the fiscal year ending June 2026, up nearly 15% from the previous year. Casino and sports betting operations delivered more than $331 million in combined state tax revenue.
Football remains the main revenue period for Iowa sportsbooks, with NFL and college football betting driving annual activity.
“Football is king for sports wagering,” Eick said. “That drives the numbers year in and year out. Lots of interest with March Madness as well. But again, football is king.”
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