Iowa Sports Betting Booms Over Past Year

Iowa’s sportsbooks have reported a staggering August GGR performance, delivering a colossal 97% hike on last year’s figure. Sports betting operators in the Hawkeye State presided over a revenue total of $14.4m, blowing last August’s $7.3m like-for-like return out of the water.

Iowans placed $122.6m worth of bets throughout the entirety of the month, a significant $14m increase in wagering activity versus the month prior, and a similar improvement on the previous year. The mid-western state’s sportsbook landscape is dominated by online actors, with mobile platforms enjoying a hegemonic 90% share of Iowa’s sports betting marketplace. Nevertheless, retail enterprises still have a considerable presence of their own, contributing $12.5m to the state’s overall handle total last month.

The Diamond Jo facility, situated in the port city of Dubuque on the banks of the River Mississippi topped the operator performance charts, with their combined retail and online endeavours generating $29.7m in handle, which served to cultivate $3.3m in gross gaming revenue. It’s sister gaming establishment, the Diamond Jo Worth located towards Iowa’s northerly border with Minnesota, came in second, with its combined sports betting channels helping the resort earn $2.2m in revenue from a $16.4m handle pot. Both casinos have provider partnerships with sports wagering giant FanDuel.

It was also a favourable month for the state, as the native regulator, the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission, received close to a $1m cash injection thanks to the jurisdiction’s sports betting taxation programme.