Despite posting a year-on-year improvement, Iowa’s sports betting handle saw a significant month-on-month drop in April.
According to the latest figures from the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission (IRGC), bettors in Iowa wagered $118.4m on sporting events in April.
April’s handle was up by 7438.9% year-on-year, but down from the $161.4m wagered in March 2021.
Mobile betting made up $104.5m of the state’s total handle while land-based betting made up the remaining $13.8m in April.
Meanwhile, overall sports betting revenue fell from $13.5m in March to $7.7m in April. However, this was up from the $150,000 posted this time last year.
Sportsbooks in the state paid $521,454 in tax revenue to the state, which was down from $908,011 in March.
How sportsbooks performed
Looking closer at the figures, the Diamond Jo Casino in Dubuque, which is partnered with FanDuel, managed to generate $1.3m in revenue from $18.5m in bets. The online FanDuel sportsbook made up $18m of the operator’s total handle in April.
The Isle Casino Hotel Waterloo and its online betting partner William Hill took second place after processing $17.9m in bets and generating $264,996 in revenue.
The Wild Rose Jefferson and its sports betting partner DraftKings rounded out the top three operators after taking $15.9m in bets and generating $1.6m in revenue.
Penn National Gaming’s Prairie Meadows Racetrack and Casino, which is also partnered with William Hill took $12.6m in bets and generated $941,271 in revenue.
No other licencee in the state saw its handle surpass $10m in the month of April.
Sports betting in Iowa
Sports betting went live in Iowa in August 2019 with a law that forced bettors in the state to create and register their online betting accounts in-person at one of the state’s casino sportsbooks.
This registration requirement ended on 1 January 2021, paving the way for bettors to create sports wagering accounts remotely from anywhere within the state.
It also means that online-only operators can enter the state, providing bettors with a wider selection of betting options.