Online Gambling Regulation in Iowa further promoted by Industry Executives

Iowa's recent actions aimed at regulating internet gambling have been yet again strongly supported by Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission chairman Jeff Lamberti and Iowa Gaming Association executive director Wes Ehrecke in an interview for “Iowa Press” to be broadcast on the State Public TV on December 28. Pending the state legislators' approval, rather eloquent Lamberti has already openly stated that his Commission was capable of regulating intrastate online poker. As the Commission already successfully regulates land casino operations in Iowa, Lamberti concludes that online activities are the next major step in the worldwide gambling industry. "We've seen some states approve it and are moving in that direction. Actually our administrator is very knowledgeable and did a paper regarding internet poker specifically,” Lamberti says. Commenting on possible future activities, Lamberti also said: “If the legislature tells us that they're going to authorize that and we need to move forward, we want to do like we do with our current facilities, [and that] is to have a high level of integrity, regulate it so the people who engage in that can trust the product.” “I don't think we know exactly what the model is exactly going to look like - is it going to be a centralized model, is it going to be in several casinos? Until we know the model, I don't think we know the answer to that,” the Commission's chairman answered when he was asked if the regulation of online poker would call for more employees. In parallel, Wes Ehrecke, Iowa Gaming Association executive director, says that his organization would not be taken aback by introduction of the legalized online poker system, as its experts have already familiarized themselves with such operations. “We'd like to have it offered through the website portals of the land casinos on a platform regulated by the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission so you're assured that when you play that we can keep the minors out,” Ehrecke said. The Association executive director underlined that up-to-date technology ensures that providers can prevent minors from taking part in gaming activities, as well as mark any out-of-state attempts to use the intrastate system. According to Ehrecke, there are around 150,000 Iowans today playing online poker on websites hosted outside the state and even outside the USA, but the Iowa Legislature has not yet endorsed internet poker.