Iowans now have two options for legal and regulated daily fantasy sports (DFS) contests.
Earlier this week, FanDuel officially launched its DFS platform in the state of Iowa, almost one month after DraftKings launched its DFS offering in the state.
Yahoo also plans to launch its DFS product in the Hawkeye State once it receives approval from the state regulator.
The journey to DFS in Iowa
Iowa’s Governor Kim Reynolds passed legislation approving daily fantasy sports contests back in May at the same time she approved sports betting legislation.
Several of Iowa’s sportsbooks began to launch sports betting operations in mid-August, just in time for the start of the 2019 NFL season. However, Brian Ohorilko of the IRGC predicted that the launch of DFS would be late.
Ohorilko’s prediction was correct, DFS was late to arrive in Iowa due to delays caused by the technology certification process for DFS sites. Under Iowa’s laws and regulations, DFS contests are currently limited to professional sports. DFS operators will not be able to offer contests on college sports until May 1 2020.
DraftKings and FanDuel in Iowa
DraftKings and FanDuel, two of the biggest DFS companies in the US, now offer land-based sports betting and DFS contests in Iowa.
DraftKings Sportsbook entered the state through a partnership with three Wild Rose casino venues. FanDuel Sportsbook, on the other hand, entered the market through an agreement with Boyd Gaming’s two Diamond Jo casinos.
Both operators have yet to launch their online sports betting platforms in the state.
Sports betting in Iowa
Iowa was the first US state to launch land-based sports betting and mobile sports betting at the same time. With just 94 days between the signing of the bill and the launch of sports betting in the Hawkeye State, Iowa’s timeline to launch sports betting was one of the quickest in the US.
Under the state’s sports betting laws, residents and visitors must be at least 21 years of age and physically located within state lines before they can place a bet. Operators in the state are required to use geolocation technology to verify a customer’s location.
The only bet types that are prohibited under state law are proposition bets on in-state college teams.
