Iowa regents approve policy barring members from sports wagering
The state Board of Regents approved a policy prohibited board member and office staff from wagering on sporting events regent universities are participating in.
Iowa Board of Regents President Michael Richards sits alongside President Pro Tem Patty Cownie during a meeting at the Iowa State Alumni Center in Ames, Iowa, on Thursday, June 6, 2019. The Regents voted in favor of a four percent tuition increase starting in the fall semester of 2019.
November 14, 2019
The state Board of Regents approved a new policy prohibiting board members and office staff from participating in sports wagering on events involving the state universities during its Thursday meeting.
The policy outlines the board members and office staff are barred from betting on any regent NCAA sports team, student athlete, or coach while they are serving in their position. The policy applies any all regulated or licensing gambling facility or regulated internet-gambling site.
Any employee or board member found violating the policy is subject to appropriate discipline, according to regent documents.
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The act allowing sports wagering and fantasy sports contests in Iowa was enacted in May and took effect in August.
The regents and office employees would not be allowed to provide information about teams, athletes, and coaches that is not already publicly available to wagering entities or individuals, the policy states.
The new policy does not apply to fantasy sports contests both off and online.
The policy prohibits regents and office employees from participating in sports wagering at gambling facilities both in and out of Iowa.
Since sports wagering only began in Iowa in August, the regents felt it was important to have a policy established at the beginning, regent President Mike Richards said.
“We felt that it was important to put a policy in place for both the board and the board office because we do have the ultimate authority for the universities and by that nature we have authority over the teams,” Richards said.