Hunter Dekkers, Jake Remsburg, Dodge Sauser plead guilty to underage gambling

The legal case involving Iowa State players Hunter Dekkers and Jake Remsburg, as well as former Cyclone Dodge Sauser, has been resolved. All three players agreed to plead guilty to underage gambling on Wednesday, their attorneys said in a statement.

As a result of the guilty plea, the trio will each pay a $645 fine, according to the statement. They were also facing charges of records tampering, but attorneys argued those charges weren’t appropriate for the case. Tampering with records is an aggravated misdemeanor in Iowa and carries a maximum two-year prison sentence. By contrast, the $645 fine is the only punishment for underage gambling.

Although the legal case has been resolved, the athletes are still waiting to hear from the NCAA about their eligibility status. Per NCAA rules, athletes who have “cumulative wagering activities that greatly exceed $800” could be looking at a loss of eligibility. Those rules were announced June 28 retroactive to May 2.

“The original records tampering charge against these young men never fit this case, either legally or factually,” the statement read. “Hunter, Jake, and Dodge are not and never were guilty of that charge. The charge has nothing to do with gambling. Other than the fact that Hunter, Jake, and Dodge placed some bets before they turned 21, nothing about those bets was a crime under Iowa law.

“These three young men have very bright futures. We are happy that this outcome frees Hunter, Jake, and Dodge to focus on the educational and eligibility aspects of this matter. They plan to pursue the sport that they love and the careers they envision for themselves.”

Dekkers and Remsburg are both currently on the Iowa State roster while Sauser has since left the program. The starting quarterback a year ago, Dekkers is arguably the highest-profile athlete caught up in the gambling investigation. He allegedly bet on a 2021 football game against Oklahoma State when he was the backup quarterback for the Cyclones.

Along with that, Dekkers allegedly placed 25 other bets on Iowa State sporting events. His DraftKings account allegedly completed upward of 350 sports wagers total more than $2,799.

Remsburg, meanwhile, allegedly placed 273 wagers — including six on NCAA basketball games. However, none of the games included Iowa State, according to a complaint last month.

Multiple other current and former Iowa State players are also caught up in the scandal, including last year’s leading rusher, Jirehl Brock. He allegedly placed bets on four Iowa State football games in which he played while using an online betting account not under his name. He played in two of those games — the CyHawk game against Iowa and the game against Kansas State.