For the second-straight month, Iowa sports betting soared to new heights.
Iowa bettors wagered $280.9 million in October, according to an Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission report released Nov. 4. In September, Iowa sports betting set the state’s previous record handle of $210.4 million, which surpassed the $161.4 million in March 2021.
Online sports betting accounted for 89% of the handle, or $249.9 million. Sports betting in the state has increased significantly since its in-person registration restriction expired at the end of 2020.
Iowa sports betting hold trending down
Despite September’s month-over-month handle growth, sportsbook revenue declined from August. That trend did not continue with October’s growth, but hold is stayed low.
Sportsbook operators generated $6.6 million in October, a 2.3% hold. That revenue figure is up from $5.7 million in September, a 2.7% hold.
The 2.3% hold is the second-lowest since Iowa launched sports betting in August 2019, ahead of the 1.3% hold in February 2020.
The state collected $514,643 in taxes.
Caesars stays on top
Caesars Sportsbook continues to enjoy the pole position it inherited from William Hill in August, taking nearly $97 million in bets in October.
DraftKings Sportsbook clocked in at $76.4 million, while FanDuel Sportsbook was a distant third at $38.1 million. Still, FanDuel paced the rest of the sportsbooks in the state with $2.1 million in revenue.
| Online Sportsbook | Online Handle | Revenue | Hold | Market Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caesars | $97 million | (-$1.6 million) | — | 38.8% |
| DraftKings | $76.4 million | $1.4 million | 1.8% | 30.6% |
| FanDuel | $38.1 million | $2.1 million | 5.5% | 15.2% |
| BetMGM | $18.3 million | $404,014 | 2.2% | 7.3% |
| PointsBet | $6 million | $400,812 | 6.6% | 2.4% |
| BetRivers | $3.7 million | (-$117,932) | — | 1.4% |
| Elite | $3.3 million | $195,249 | 5.9% | 1.3% |
| theScore | $2.1 million | $353,713 | 16.8% | <1% |
| Betfred | $1.4 million | $63,473 | 4.5% | <1% |
| Hard Rock | $1.2 million | $116,015 | 9.7% | <1% |
| Unibet | $957,599 | $40,536 | 4.2% | <1% |
| Bally Bet | $651,498 | $77,361 | 11.9% | <1% |
| Q Sportsbook | $330,849 | $22,062 | 6.7% | <1% |
| Circa | $264,761 | $40,735 | 15.3% | <1% |
| Fubo | $21,589 | (-$4,972) | — | <1% |
New operators launch in Iowa sports betting
Circa Sportsbook took $264,761 in bets during its first month in Iowa. Betway Sportsbook went live at the beginning of October but is not broken out from FanDuel in the monthly report.
Fubo Sportsbook started a soft launch in September and took $21,589 in online bets during October. The operator announced a full launch Nov. 3, a day after Barstool Sportsbook started in Iowa.
The state now has 17 online sportsbooks.
