A bill for an act relating to illegal gaming, and making penalties applicable.

2025-2026 Regular Session

SF 395 criminalizes proxy betting and account sharing in gambling/sports wagering, sets tiered penalties by amount and offense history, and targets licensees and players.

Rereferred to Public Safety.

#felonies #gambling #misdemeanors #pari-mutuelwagering #sportswagering

Purpose and intent

SF 395 aims to address illegal gaming by explicitly criminalizing two practices—proxy betting and account sharing—in the context of gambling and sports wagering. It expands the activities treated as illegal gaming under Iowa Code section 725.7 and aligns enforcement with the state’s gambling framework, including pari-mutuel and sports wagering under Chapter 99F.

What the bill does

Adds two new prohibited activities to illegal gaming:

Proxy betting: wagering or requesting another person to wager on behalf of someone else, with the intent to conceal the bettor’s identity (as defined in Iowa Code 99F.1(g)).
Account sharing: two or more people sharing access to a gambling account established with a licensee to participate in gambling or sports wagering, with the aim of concealing identity (as defined in Iowa Code 99F.1(h)).

Includes related activity: delivering something of value to place a wager in a pari-mutuel pool or other authorized wagering system, after receiving that thing of value, for a fee, outside of a gambling structure.

Establishes tiered penalties for illegal gaming, based on the amount involved and whether the offense is a first or subsequent offense. Ranges from a serious misdemeanor to a Class C felony:

Fourth degree illegal gaming: $100 or less (serious misdemeanor first offense; aggravated misdemeanor second; Class D felony third; Class C felony fourth or subsequent).
Third degree illegal gaming: $100–$500 (aggravated misdemeanor first; Class D felony second; Class C felony third or subsequent).
Second degree illegal gaming: $500–$5,000 (Class D felony first; Class C felony second or subsequent).
First degree illegal gaming: more than $5,000 (Class C felony).

Links penalties to existing framework under 725.7, which includes severity ranges (serious misdemeanor to Class C felony) and fines.

Who is affected

Individuals who engage in proxy betting or account sharing in relation to gambling and sports wagering.

Individuals who participate in or facilitate activities involving delivering value to place wagers outside of licensed gambling structures.

Licensees under Iowa Code chapter 99F and their customers who might be implicated by proxy or account-sharing arrangements.

Procedural and timeline aspects

Introduced: February 20, 2025.

Senate action: Passed the Senate (unanimous, 48-0) on March 12, 2025; immediate message sent.

House status: Rereferred to Public Safety as of May 15, 2025; previously placed on calendar and then moved through committee.

Assumed enforcement timeline includes a delay from effective date to first entry into the correctional system (per fiscal note), with penalties applying based on the offense degree and amount involved.

Fiscal and policy notes

Fiscal note indicates the bill may increase convictions under 725.7; exact impact on the Department of Corrections is unknown.

Estimated average state cost per offense (offense class) ranges from several hundred to tens of thousands of dollars, depending on degree.

Minority impact and county jail costs are noted as uncertain due to data limitations.

Key takeaways

SF 395 strengthens illegal gaming prohibitions by codifying proxy betting and account sharing as illegal activities.

It introduces a structured penalty scheme tied to the amount involved and offense history.

The bill creates potential increases in enforcement and incarceration costs, though exact impacts are not yet determinable.

Bill