Iowa Smashes Handle Records With $280M in October

The popularity of sports wagering in Iowa continues to grow as the state sees remarkable handle. According to analysts from PlayIA.com, the sportsbooks in Iowa took in $280 million in bets throughout October.

Iowa Sets a Remarkable Handle Record

The $280 million in October mark a 243% year-to-year increase in sports betting handle. Out of that sum, almost $250 million in wagers were placed online and only about $30-31 million were bet on live venues. Going into more details, Iowa punters wagered an average of around $9.1 million per day.

For reference, September was also a record month for sports wagering. The beginning of autumn saw Iowa bettors wager about $210 million on sports collectively. The number was impressive and still, October has shown that this wasn’t the full extent of the sports betting popularity.

To put the numbers into perspective, between August and October, Iowa has had more handle than it had throughout the whole of 2020 (around $600 million against $575 million).

Russ Mitchell from PlayIA.com pointed out that “Iowa’s sports betting industry is in a great position headed into the final months of 2021.”

The Numerous Events and Operators Contributed to the Results

PlayUSA.com analyst Eric Ramsey elaborated that the baseball postseason, the start of the National Basketball League, and the numerous football events provided local bettors with many exciting events to bet on.

Furthermore, Ramsey explained that Iowa’s betting market has matured and the increased amount of operators has made people more comfortable with online sports betting. “A maturing market and busy sports calendar proved to be a powerful combination,” Ramsey said.

He added that Iowa’s market is “enticing for operators” thanks to its fair regulatory framework. Another strength that Ramsey mentioned is that top US betting operators don’t have the same amount of influence in Iowa, providing the opportunity for smaller operators to gain a foothold. The state currently has 17 online sports betting operators with Fubo Sportsbook, Betway, Circa Sports, and Barstool Sports being some of the newest names on the local market.

Taking a look at the top operators, Caesars occupies the top spot with $97 million in wagers. Despite that, the operator reported a $1.6 million loss in revenue. DraftKings is in second place with $76.4 million and $1.4 million of net revenue.

Next up are Diamond Jo Worth and Ameristar Council Bluffs with $7.2 and $7.1 million of handle respectively. The former reported about $789,000 in revenue and the latter around $601,000. In total, since sports betting was launched in the state, Iowa bettors have wagered over $2.3 billion.