Iowa Sports Betting Revenue More Than Doubles From June To July

Iowans picked up a taste for sports betting once major sports began opening up in July with reports showing $22.9 million wagered for the month.
Of the $22.9 million, $2.2 million was made in revenue for the state having the bulk of activity done through mobile and internet outlets due to COVID-19.

DES MOINES, Iowa – The handle for sports betting in Iowa from June to July showed a substantial spike in activity by bettors which attributed to more revenue for the state than has been seen in the past few months.

For the month of June, gamblers wagered $12.7 million on sporting events while July saw $22.9 million, which is an over $10 million surge in engagement. Of that, the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission (IRGC) reported $2.2 million in revenue for July, a huge leap from the $620,740 gained in June.

The IRGC has mobile and internet sports betting taking the lion’s share of business for July with $17.8 million gambled on sports by Iowans through the use of these platforms. Using that figure, over half of the revenue that equaled the sum of $1.3 million was collected.

The retail sportsbooks contributed $915,582 in revenue from the $5.1 million in bets they took in for the month of July.

Iowa’s sports betting law requires that bettors sign up in person in order to open a mobile sportsbook account. With land-based locations now opened, the numbers for online wagering are expected to see a further increase in the coming months.

The law’s requirement for in-person registration will be lifted beginning the first of January 2021, allowing the people of Iowa to become members of mobile sports wagering applications from home or wherever they are that has internet access.

The Details For July Sports Betting Figures

The biggest land-based winner for handle and revenue in the Hawkeye State for July over any other sports betting venue was Prairie Meadows, who uses William Hill as their preferred sportsbook operator. Prairie Meadows took $7.3 million in bets and $529,540 in revenue.

The Wild Rose Jefferson, a DraftKings affiliated location, posted $2.8 million in wagers taken and $168,306 in revenue.

Tied for fourth place for profits with the Wild Rose was the Riverside Casino and Golf Resort that had $1.9 million in sports bets placed at their facility, amounting to $168,306 in revenue for the state.

Big-time company Penn National had the fourth biggest number for handle from their sportsbook with the Ameristar Casino Hotel Council Bluffs bringing in $1.1 million but the second highest-grossing revenue with $240,196.

The Diamond Jo Worth Casino had $218,125 in revenue with about $1 million in wagers taken in July.

In terms of revenue, the locations from the highest to lowest grossing for the month of July were Prairie Meadows, Ameristar Casino Hotel Council Bluffs, the Diamond Jo Worth Casino, the Wild Rose Jefferson, and the Riverside Casino and Golf Resort.

Harrah’s Council Bluffs Casino and Hotel was in the red for July, reporting a loss of $7,884.

Iowa Sports Betting Beyond July

The surge in handle and revenue from June to July has a lot to do with the reopening of both facilities and major sports coming back during the month of July from the hiatus caused by the outbreak of COVID-19.

With sports back and venues open, gambling on sporting events is projected to continue in the months ahead. With the NFL season also still slated to take place, Iowa can expect to see more profits from their sports betting market.

Come January when sports matchups are still happening and Iowans become eligible to sign up for sportsbook accounts from home, the sky’s the limit for the state’s legal sports betting industry which should continue to see an upswing in earnings from here on out

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Christina Monroe

Christina has been writing for as long as she can remember and does dedicated research on the newly regulated sports betting market. She comes from a family of sports lovers that engage in friendly bets from time to time. During the winter months, you can find Christina baking cookies and beating the entire staff at Mario Kart…the N64 version of course.