Iowans can place a sports wager from their mobile phones but still can’t put together a daily fantasy sports team.
Early in August, Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission administrator Brian Ohorilko expected DFS sites to be operating before the start of the NFL season.
With applicants DraftKings, FanDuel and Yahoo not receiving authorization for Week 2, Ohorilko admits that there have been some hiccups with the DFS industry demonstrating compliance with Iowa’s rules and regulations.
“The industry has stated to me that Iowa’s rules and regulations are more stringent than most they are operating in,” Ohorilko said.
Iowa rules and regs were supposed to promote flexibility
The IRGC was able to expedite approval of many controls for sportsbooks operating in other states to authorize launches before college football season.
DraftKings and FanDuel certainly operate in other states, so what’s the hold up with DFS?
Ohorilko assures that sportsbooks and DFS operators are being treated the same way. Four sportsbooks yet to receive approval are facing similar issues.
The same conditional approvals issued for suitability checks for entities operating sports betting in other states are available for the DFS sites.
“The issue with some of the DFS applicants is not due diligence as they have been operating in other states,” Ohorilko said. “Compliance is the issue for DFS in Iowa.”
Ohorilko pointed to technology certification of software for Iowa players as one issue causing the delay.
When will DFS get the green light in Iowa?
Ohorilko promised that daily fantasy applicants are getting close to receiving authorization, which could come as soon as this week or next.
“We’ve made great progress in the past two weeks in terms of the daily fantasy sports industry demonstrating compliance with Iowa’s rules and regulations,” Ohorilko said. “All applicants have been very cooperative. It is just taking some a bit longer than others to check the boxes.”
He added that the delay has been frustrating to all involved.
“It is an issue where various states have different regulations, and I think that became a realization to all involved a bit later than it should have,” Ohorilko said.
