Exposing children to gambling

Critics: Game exposes kids to gambling

Angry Iowans are complaining about children being exposed to the Iowa Lottery's new TouchPlay gambling machines, even if kids aren't being caught illegally playing the games, which closely resemble slot machines.

Unlike state laws that strictly prohibit Iowa's riverboats and racetracks from allowing people younger than 21 from being on a casino floor, children cannot be kept out of groceries, convenience stores and other retailers offering TouchPlay games.

George Antolik of Urbandale said he was shocked recently when he and his 10-year-old twins went into a suburban Kum & Go convenience store.

"A 40-year-old female was playing the TouchPlay machine and won the $100 jackpot. She is screaming, 'I won the $100 jackpot!' What is troubling is that my children witnessed this disturbing incident. My children . . . should not be exposed to this evil in a public place. Please take these morphine machines out of our neighborhoods, so our children are not exposed to this insanity," Antolik wrote in an e-mail.

About 4,600 TouchPlay machines have been installed at 2,500 locations statewide. The machines are a big moneymaker and have lately been added to businesses at a rate of about 100 per week. Gov. Tom Vilsack has ordered a temporary moratorium on licensing machines not purchased by the end of last week. He also appointed a task force to study the issue.

Jack Ketterer, administrator of the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission, said the commission has no jurisdiction over the machines, which differ from casino slot machines primarily in how they are programmed to determine winners. He said several Iowans have called the commission, demanding to know why slot machines are being allowed in places that are not casinos.

"Most people in the general public do view them as slot machines," although they are technically a lottery machine with a video display, Ketterer told the commission Thursday at its meeting in Johnston. He said state law permits the commission to regulate gambling only at riverboats and racetracks, and it can't intervene in gambling at other businesses.

Last week, a Des Moines Register reporter observed a woman playing a TouchPlay game at a Kum & Go store in Perry while the woman's toddler was placed on a chair in front of the machine.

Iowa Lottery President Edward Stanek said he was not comfortable with such a situation, but said it did not violate Iowa Lottery rules because the child wasn't playing the game, and the TouchPlay machine was not in an area restricted to those 21 and older.

"Something like that bothers me. We would hope that parents would have more good judgment than to have children involved when they are playing any of our games," Stanek said.

A nearly identical incident was observed last week by Johnston Mayor Brian Laurenzo, who said he watched a father playing a TouchPlay machine in an Urbandale restaurant with his preschool son on his lap.

"I don't know that any of our laws are being broken. I just think that the proliferation of these machines is not healthy for our communities," Laurenzo said.

Such an incident involving a parent gambling with a child at an Iowa casino would violate Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission rules because no one under 21 is allowed on the casino floor, Ketterer said. Such an incident would probably result in a fine for the casino and a possible suspension of a casino employee's occupational license if the worker didn't have the child removed, he said.

Maureen Roushar, a spokeswoman for Kum & Go convenience stores, which has TouchPlay machines at about 200 Iowa locations, said the company is committed to ensuring that underage customers don't play the games.

Hy-Vee Food Stores, Iowa's largest grocery chain, has 197 TouchPlay machines, mostly in grocery and drug stores, with the rest in Hy-Vee gas stations and liquor stores, said Ruth Comer, a company spokeswoman.

Nick Eakins, 51, a bellman at the Hotel Pattee in Perry, contended that it's wrong for state officials to permit TouchPlay machines in grocery stores.

"I have a lot of friends of mine who are gambling addicts, and now they are putting those machines in grocery stores. That's a crock. I mean, if you choose to go into a casino or bar, that's one thing. But they need to be ripped out of grocery stores," Eakins said.


Stanek said that despite assertions of underage people playing TouchPlay machines, there have been no substantiated violations. He said retailers get extensive training to prevent such problems, and noted that the businesses face a suspension of their license to offer lottery games if they violate state regulations.

Wes Ehrecke, president of the Iowa Gaming Association, a casino industry group, said Iowa casinos face a $10,000 fine if minors are caught gambling in a riverboat or racetrack casino. The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission and Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation have staff working full time on the premises of Iowa casinos, and $10,000 fines have been repeatedly imposed when minors have been found in casinos.

Casino industry officials contend that both the Iowa Lottery and its retailers have a vested interest in not reporting incidents of underage use of TouchPlay machines because both benefit financially from the games.