The letter of the law in the State of Iowa makes it a crime to, “Make any bet,” in any fashion that is not specifically authorized by the state. Since any form of gambling at an online casino would constitute a bet, play at online casinos would automatically qualify as unlawful gambling under the code.
As you can see on our restrictions page:
We will again mention here, the laws regarding unlawful gambling in the State of Iowa are perhaps more specific than any other state:
725.7 Gaming and betting -- penalty.
1. Except as permitted in chapters 99B [bingo] and 99D [racetracks], a person shall not do any of the following:
Participate in a game for any sum of money or other property of any value.
Make any bet.
For a fee, directly or indirectly, give or accept anything of value to be wagered or to be transmitted or delivered for a wager to be placed within or without the state of Iowa.
For a fee, deliver anything of value which has been received outside the enclosure of a racetrack licensed under chapter 99D to be placed as wagers in the pari-mutuel pool or other authorized systems of wagering.
Engage in bookmaking.
Transmission of monies or property for the purpose of gambling, engaging in bookmaking and actually participating in gambling are all illegal, but the penalty depends on the sum of money being bet and how many prior offenses the individual in question has.
2. A person who violates this section is guilty of the following:
a. Illegal gaming in the fourth degree if the sum of money or value of other property involved does not exceed one hundred dollars. Illegal gaming in the fourth degree constitutes the following:
A serious misdemeanor for a first offense.
An aggravated misdemeanor for a second offense.
A class "D" felony for a third offense.
A class "C" felony for a fourth or subsequent offense.
b. Illegal gaming in the third degree if the sum of money or value of other property involved exceeds one hundred dollars but does not exceed five hundred dollars. Illegal gaming in the third degree constitutes the following:
An aggravated misdemeanor for a first offense.
A class "D" felony for a second offense.
A class "C" felony for a third or subsequent offense.
c. Illegal gaming in the second degree if the sum of money or value of other property involved exceeds five hundred dollars but does not exceed five thousand dollars. Illegal gaming in the second degree constitutes the following:
A class "D" felony for a first offense.
A class "C" felony for a second or subsequent offense.
d. Illegal gaming in the first degree if the sum of money or value of other property involved exceeds five thousand dollars. Illegal gaming in the first degree constitutes a class "C" felony.
Serious misdemeanors can result in up to one year in jail and up to $1,875 in fines.
Aggravated Misdemeanors can result in up to two years imprisonment and up to $6,250 in fines.
Class D Felonies can result in up to five years imprisonment and up to $7,500 in fines.
Class C felonies can result in up to ten years imprisonment and up to $10,000 in fines.
These laws are also pretty strictly enforced...
...when it comes to reported illegal poker games and other forms of physical gambling, but we have never heard of any player being arrested for gambling online within the State of Iowa.
Given the draconian nature of their penalties:
We definitely wouldn’t advise gambling online openly just to be on the safe side, but there is virtually no way anyone would face adverse consequences for doing it out of one’s own home. If anyone operated an online casino from within the state, they would undoubtedly face serious consequences, but any operators are out of the legal reach of the State of Iowa.
With that, the majority of online casinos that operate within the United States at all also operate in the State of Iowa, and here are some below:
US Iowa Online Casinos
