Teens illegally gambling online

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) - On Wednesday, the number of investigations into current and former Iowa athletes in connection to a sports betting investigation has grown to 7.

The state gaming commission and Iowa DCI launched an investigation into illegal sports wagering among college athletes earlier this year.

When sports betting was first passed into law in 2019, people needed to complete the registration process in person. That expired at the beginning of 2021, and it didn’t take long to find someone who took advantage of the new system.

In just over an hour of talking to people in downtown Iowa City, TV9 spoke to a person who said he was 17 years old and had placed illegal sports bets online, specifically, on the NBA playoffs.

“I have a sibling that‘s older than me, and I just typed in their information and went for the bet,” said Ben.

Ben said he lost his bet, but more importantly, he didn’t know what he was doing was against the law and that he could face a misdemeanor charge. In Iowa, the legal age to start betting on sports is 21.

“I didn’t know that you couldn’t do it,” he said. “I just used my sister’s stuff and started betting.”

Six combined University of Iowa and Iowa State players have been accused of illegally gambling while underage. It’s something Ben said was easy thanks to sports betting apps.

“They had either a parent or a sibling that’s older than them that they can type their information in and just bet from that,” he said.

Ben said he placed the bet because he thought it would be something fun to do, but said it was also something he worried could put young people on a dangerous path.

“If you don’t know how to control your money, especially for younger people, it can be like impulsively buying things,” he said. “Stuff like that can be pretty unhealthy for younger kids to have access to betting like that.”