IOWA STATUTES AND CODES
99B.11 - BONA FIDE CONTESTS.
99B.11 BONA FIDE CONTESTS.
1. It is lawful for a person to conduct any of the contests
specified in subsection 2, and to offer and pay awards to persons
winning in those contests whether or not entry fees, participation
fees, or other charges are assessed against or collected from the
participants, but only if all of the following are complied with:
a. The contest is not held at an amusement concession.
b. No gambling device is used in conjunction with, or
incident to the contest.
c. The contest is not conducted in whole or in part on or in
any property subject to chapter 297, relating to schoolhouses and
schoolhouse sites, unless the contest and the person conducting the
contest has the express written approval of the governing body of
that school district.
d. The contest is conducted in a fair and honest manner. A
contest shall not be designed or adapted to permit the operator of
the contest to prevent a participant from winning or to predetermine
who the winner will be, and the object of the contest must be
attainable and possible to perform under the rules stated.
2. A contest is not lawful unless it is one of the following
contests:
a. Athletic or sporting contests, leagues or tournaments,
rodeos, horse shows, golf, bowling, trap or skeet shoots, fly
casting, tractor pulling, rifle, pistol, musket, muzzle-loader, pool,
darts, archery, and horseshoe contests, leagues, or tournaments.
b. Horse races, harness racing, ski, airplane, snowmobile,
raft, boat, bicycle and motor vehicle races.
c. Contests or exhibitions of cooking, horticulture,
livestock, poultry, fish or other animals, artwork, hobbywork or
craftwork, except those prohibited by chapter 717A.
d. Cribbage, bridge, chess, checkers, dominoes, pinochle and
similar contests, leagues or tournaments. The provisions of this
paragraph are retroactive to August 15, 1975.
e. A video machine golf tournament game which is an
interactive bona fide contest. A player operates a video machine
golf tournament game with a trackball assembly which acts as the
golfer's swing and determines the results of play and tournament
scores. A video machine golf tournament game is capable of receiving
program and data information from an off-site location. A tournament
operator shall prominently display all tournament rules.
3. A poker, blackjack, craps, keno, or roulette contest, league,
or tournament shall not be considered a bona fide contest under this
section. Section History: Early Form
[C75, § 99B.11, 726.13; C77, 79, 81, § 99B.11] Section History: Recent Form
2000 Acts, ch 1231, §36; 2002 Acts, ch 1068, §13; 2004 Acts, ch
1056, §1, 10; 2004 Acts, ch 1175, §365; 2005 Acts, ch 106, §9
Referred to in § 99B.9, 99B.12, 99B.17