Four Iowa casinos fined for underage patron breaches

Four casinos in Iowa are paying a combined amount of $130,000 in fines to the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission for gambling violations involving minors.

Racing And Gaming administrator, Brian Ohorilko, said the Catfish Bend Casino in Burlington was fined for the actions of an underage male.

Ohorilko said: “He entered the casino floor unchallenged, was on the floor for 47 minutes. It was not discernable whether the individual had gambled — pulled a ticket out of the machine, and based on a preponderance of the evidence, we felt the individual did gamble.”

He said that the casino agreed to a $30,000 fine. “Normal fine for this is $20,000, but there were the aggravating circumstances of a lack of surveillance coverage, and the age of the minor elevated that fine.”

The Horseshoe Casino in Council Bluffs was fined $60,000 for two underage violations. The first involved a minor female in January who entered the gambling floor with an adult, who reportedly was on the gaming floor for over 30 minutes and gambled at a number of slot machines. The second count occurred a couple of months later where there was another individual, a 17-year-old female who entered was on the floor for five hours and gambled.

Prairie Meadows in Altoona was fined $20,000 thousand for an underage male who got onto the casino floor with two adults. “Was not challenged at the turnstile, had gambled, and was on the floor for approximately 60 minutes. This individual was identified by another security officer who was conducting their routine business,” Ohorilko said.

The final violation involved a minor at the Diamond Jo Worth Casino in Northwood who entered the gambling floor unchallenged. “Was on the floor for over two hours and had gambled. This minor was identified by staff at Diamond Jo,” Ohorilko commented. Diamond Jo Worth agreed to a $20,000 penalty for the violation.

Ohorilko stated the violations for all four casinos were their first in the last 365 days, reports Radio Iowa.