Iowa Sports Betting Sees Legal Wrangling and Battles
Athletes Engage in Suit Claiming Civil Rights Were Violated
Athletes caught up in the 2023 Iowa Sports Betting Scandal are fighting back. They believe they were impugned and want their reputations back.
The 26 athletes – some current and others who have moved on – sued the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation in April for violating their civil rights. The issue is whether the DCI was in violation when it tracked sports betting dorm rooms at Iowa and Iowa State.
Gaming Today’s Russ Mitchell reported Des Moines attorney Van Plumb represents the athletes. His court filings suggest DCI Special Agent Brian Sanger used the AI program Kibana and expertise from GeoComply to create a GeoFence around dorms in Ames and Iowa City.
The lawsuit followed controversy surrounding the investigation. Attorneys publicly pushed back on the charges in January, claiming Special Agent Brian Sanger, with the Division of Criminal Investigation, conducted a “warrantless search” by placing a GeoFence around certain dorms to investigate underage gambling. State lawmakers joined the discussion, saying the investigation caused “deep concerns about our Iowans’ right to privacy.”
The players lost eligibility and missed the 2023 season. They claim indictments and convictions came out of the DCI’s actions. They seek compensation for “humiliation, degradation, public ridicule, loss of reputation, and emotional distress” from the Iowa Sports Betting Scandal.
The Iowa Attorney General has sought to have the suit dismissed.
Lives in the Balance
With the college sports news percolating, ESPN ran a long-form article on the investigations and how they upended lives.
In May 2023, state agents in Iowa launched the first major sports wagering raid targeting college athletes.
The fallout: Eligibility loss, plea deals, prosecution failures and now a federal lawsuit.@pinepaula and I investigated how it all went down: https://t.co/Uxp7G5XxFb
— Adam Rittenberg (@ESPNRittenberg) July 18, 2024
“All it takes is an illegal investigation for you to miss out on the rest of your dreams” former Iowa State running back Jirehl Brock told ESPN. “When your privacy was invaded and that’s the way that it happened, it puts an asterisk on the fact that we were doing it.”
It is apparent that there is chaos and irregularity when pursuing.
NCAA Makes Adjustments
Gamingtoday reported on changes the NCAA made regarding sports betting after the Iowa incidents.
Athletes who place bets or share insider information involving their own team permanently lose their eligibility.
The NCAA eased other sanctions, however. Using an Iowa football player as an example:
- If he bet on a University of Iowa game in another sport, he would now face a one-year penalty instead of a lifetime ban.
- The college football player loses 50% of his season if he bets on any college football game.
- NCAA reinstatement committee members base the remaining sanctions on cumulative sports betting amounts.
- If the Iowa football player risked less than $200 — on NBA games and the World Series, for example — he’d receive “rules and prevention education.”
- $201 to $500 — 10% of the season
- $501 to $800 — 20% of the season
- $800+ — 30% of the season, with discretion to up the penalty under extreme circumstances.
ESPN reporting unearthed some intriguing info on how GeoComply responded to the Iowa Sports Betting Scandal. After the Iowa investigation, GeoComply updated data usage guidelines for investigations, applying them to several states, per ESPN.
