The numbers are in and according to the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission, the sports betting operators in Iowa showed a handle that increased month-over-month and year-over-year.
Iowa Handle Flexes
Iowa may not be the first state that comes to mind when one thinks of mobile sports betting but the sportsbooks operating in the state posted impressive numbers compared to the previous year. It was also the first month-over-month increase since March which is good news heading into the most popular sports betting season on the calendar – NFL and college football.
The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission (IRGC) reported the state’s sportsbooks posted a $166.99 million handle which was nearly a 21% spike compared to last month’s $138.1 million. But more importantly, year-over-year growth was also significant as it was 18.2% ahead of August 2023’s $141.3 million in accepted wagers.
As we have seen time and time again throughout the country where sports betting is legal, the mobile market’s handle towers above the brick-and-mortar shops. Iowa is no different and the August data proves it with $156.1 million of the nearly $167 million handle, or 93.7%, transmitted through digital wagers, while the rest was bet at the state’s land-based sportsbooks.
Mobile sportsbooks experienced a 19.5% increase in July while retail bets climbed 44.8% compared to the previous month.
DraftKings Wins Iowa
There certainly isn’t a lack of competition for Iowans’ sports betting buck with 18 online sportsbooks vying for the top spot. But as we have seen in virtually every other online gaming market, there is the duopoly of FanDuel and DraftKings, and then there is everyone else.
Boston-based DraftKings blew the competition away with an August handle of $64.3 million while FanDuel was a distant second with $36.9 million. The iconic Las Vegas brand, Caesars Sportsbook, posted a $16.6 million handle while BetMGM was next with $13.5 million followed by European entry, bet365, claiming the fifth spot with $8.1 million.
As for the bottom lines of the books, they collectively won $15.76 million in August which was up 16.6% from last August’s $13.51 million in total operator revenue. DraftKings led all challengers as one would expect with $5.42 million while FanDuel came second with 3.31 million in August revenue.
Although BetMGM had a slightly lower handle than Caesars, its hold was higher which resulted in $1.44 million in revenue compared to Caesars’ $993,000. Rounding out the major revenue players were bet365 ($692,400), Fanatics ($374,000), ESPN BET ($352,300), Rush Street Interactive ($214,000), and Circa ($92,000).
Iowa tax coffers benefited to the tune of $1.06 million on sportsbooks’ revenues and have now collected more than $16.3 million this year.
ClutchBet Bows Out
There will be one less competitor in the Iowa market as Aussie bookmaker, ClutchBet, has announced its departure from the U.S. sports betting market which means it will no longer be taking wagers in Iowa, Colorado, or Louisiana after September 16th at 7:00 PM.
BlueBet, the parent company of ClutchBet, released the following statement: “The decision to exit the U.S. comes as slower than expected regulation has hampered total market growth and hindered interest in the Company’s B2B SaaS platform, which BlueBet viewed as a significant opportunity.”
