Sports Betting in Iowa Generates $2.2 Million Revenue in July

Iowa’s sports betting revenue rose to $2.2 million in July, continuing the trend go growth and recovery after the shutdown caused by the global health pandemic.

The sports and retail gambling venues were all closed throughout the most of the year so far, but they were partially reopened in June. The July outcome is 261.5% higher than June’s while sports handle also rose 80.3% on the monthly basis – to $22.9 million.

Online Dominates

Sports betting revenue was mostly made online…

…as this channel continues to dominate with a total of $1.3 million during the month of July. This was made from $17.8 million in overall sports wagers.

The retail revenue amounted to $915,582 as consumers began to return to land-based venues. $5.1 million in bets was placed in-person in brick and mortar casinos during July.

Players won a total of $20.6 million from sports betting in retail and online combined, while operators paid $151,919 in tax from sports wagering.

Pecking Order

William Hill-powered sportsbook in Prairie Meadows remained the best-performing one in Iowa…

…as it made $529,540 in revenue and $7.3 million in handle, winning number one spots in both regards.

Second-placed was Penn National Gaming’s Ameristar Casino Hotel Council Bluffs whose revenue amounted to $240,196 and had a handle of $1.1 million. It was followed by Diamond Jo Worth Casino with $218,125 in revenue from $1 million in total bets.

The Riverside Casino and Golf Resort reported $168,306 in revenue off $1.9 million in sports wagers, while Wild Rose Jefferson with DraftKings’ sports book posted $164,535 in revenue from a $2.8 million handle. Theirs was the second highest total, after Prairie Meadows.

Casino Hotel Waterloo performed well too, with $151,166 in revenue and a handle of $1.9 million. Horseshoe Casino Council Bluffs is the one remaining value whose profits went above $100,000 – $121,824, to be exact, from $809,954 in placed bets.

Slow Recovery

The pandemic has hit US casinos very hard…

…resulting in multi-month closures and the current reopening is very slow and gradual, with a lot of safety and precaution measures still in effect.

However, the reopening has begun to show promise and results: last month, online gaming revenue in Pennsylvania began to rise, although land-based revenue nosedived.

Sports betting is continuing its advent in the US – most recently this was evident in the deal between NBA and Sports Yahoo which have signs an agreement that encomes several different verticals and will see sports betting and NBA popularized.

Source:

“Iowa sports betting revenue up to $2.2m in July”, igbnorthamerica.com, August 7th, 2020.