Sports gambling lawsuit attorneys spell out case against the state

DES MOINES, Iowa — Thursday, Sandy Law Firm, Matt Boles, Van Plumb, and Grant Gerleman of Dallas-based Palmer Perlstein issued the following statement in further response to Commissioner Bayens (March statement) after receiving emails from the DPS from an open records request on the DCI’s sports gambling investigation .

Bayens: “This was concerning because sportsbooks must seek to prohibit sports wagering by coaches, athletic trainers and players as required by Iowa law.”

Response: Iowa Law does not require sportsbooks to seek to prohibit sports wagering by coaches, athletic trainers and players, it only requires sportsbooks to seek to prohibit betting on NCAA Sanctioned events, NASCAR, MMA and the like are not NCAA events.

In fact, the investigation seems to have been started to justify the formation of a new unit within the DCI called the SEOB (Sports Wagering/Online Gambling Unit and to change legislation.

In a February 2, 2023, email from Special Agent Chris Adkins to Special Agent Troy Nelson and Special Agent Brian Sanger it was stated:

“I was thinking about our discussion yesterday surrounding the Iowa Football program. I might be in the minority, but I think this is one of those things that would bring attention to our unit, not only in the public’s eye, but also as far as the commissioner and even possibly the legislatures.

From what I gathered from what Brian said, there is a crime here. Underage individuals using their parent’s names on their sportsbook accounts. So you possibly have underage gambling and also maybe identity theft. As far as coaches, players, and managers are concerned, we don’t necessarily have a crime on the books in Iowa, but I think it would be a good idea to report them to the University, the Big Ten, and the NCAA. If they get suspended or get a scholarship taken away, so be it. Of course, this would only be after an investigation to find out if they were the ones making the wagers. And then also hold the books accountable since they are the ones who allowed the players and coaches to have these accounts (so much for knowing their clients-not)

I know it seems like a lot of work for something small, but on a case like this, where it will be higher profile, we can show our worth to the powers to be along with sending out a warning that we will be overseeing things and hopefully work on slowing down these sorts of things in the future.

And if we pursue this and it hits the media, which it would, and people start asking why nothing criminal was done- we can use the platform to hopefully push legislators for code changes moving forward.”

Bayens: “As law enforcement officers, we take an oath to uphold the law and we do so without exception, even when it’s difficult.”

Response: A March 24, 2023, email from Assistant Director Jobes expresses that some agents are expressing concern related to the initial use of the geolocation data and the potential need to identify the source of the data in subsequent court proceedings.

Bayens: “He said Story County Prosecutors “repeatedly shared with us their belief that the Division of Criminal Investigation’s actions were legal.”

Response: A September 15, 2022, email was sent from Assistant Story County Prosecutor Tyler Grimm to Special Agent Chris Swigart stating that the location stuff (GeoFence) in particular would require a warrant.

Special Agent Heather Duenow then inquired from GeoComply on September 29, 2023, as to who owned the Geolocation Data and was told “From a privacy perspective, the player/end user is the owner of the geolocation data when it’s associated with their accounts and devices.” She then passed this information onto Special Agent Chris Swigart. On December 20, 2023, Special Agent Swigart began reaching out to other agents to gather information to put together a Geolocation Search Warrant. He completed his template on January 5, 2023.

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