The first year of Iowa sports betting with remote registration led to record heights, including in January.
Iowa bettors wagered a record $303.3 million in January, according to a report from the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission released Friday. The previous Iowa sports betting handle record was $287.2 million in November 2021.
The January 2022 handle is a sharp increase of 103% over January 2021, the first month without in-person registration requirements in Iowa.
Iowa sports betting revenue steady
Iowa sportsbooks generated $14.3 million in revenue, a 4.7% hold. It is the second-highest monthly revenue total for the state, trailing the $19.7 million from November 2021.
The January sports betting revenue is up 6.7% compared to December 2021’s $13.4 million, a 5% hold on the $266.5 million handle.
The state collected $964,525 in taxes.
Registration shackles off in Iowa
The in-person registration requirement in Iowa expired when 2020 turned to 2021. Sports betting handle jumped immediately, from $104.8 million in December 2020 to a then-record $149.5 million in January 2021, a 42.7% increase.
Fiscal year totals help show the full effect of allowing mobile registration.
Iowa bettors wagered $1.2 billion in fiscal year 2021, which ran through June 2021. Through the first seven months of fiscal year 2022, Iowa sportsbooks have handled more than $1.6 billion.
Iowa sportsbooks surged too
Multiple sportsbooks waited out the in-person registration requirement.
In December 2020, there were eight live operators. There are now 18 active sportsbooks in the state.
A similar situation could occur in Illinois sports betting, where an in-person registration rule is slated to expire next month.
Caesars still tops Iowa sports betting
Online sports betting in January totaled nearly $275.9 million, making up 90.9% of the overall handle.
William Hill established itself as a clear market leader in the Hawkeye State before Caesars acquired the sportsbook and relaunched the market in August 2021. Caesars kept that position, taking nearly $112.7 million in online bets in January, a 40.8% market share.
DraftKings and FanDuel were the only other operators with more than 10% online market share, at 25% and 16%, respectively. BetMGM was the fourth (and only other) operator to clear $10 million in handle, claiming 7.9% of the market.
| Sportsbook | Online Handle | Revenue | Hold | Market Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caesars | $112.7 million | $2.8 million | 2.5% | 40.8% |
| DraftKings | $68.9 million | $3.0 million | 4.4% | 25.0% |
| FanDuel | $44.1 million | $3.5 million | 7.9% | 16.0% |
| BetMGM | $21.7 million | $1.6 million | 7.4% | 7.9% |
| Barstool | $9.2 million | $297,459 | 3.2% | 3.3% |
| PointsBet | $5.8 million | $503,468 | 8.7% | 2.1% |
| BetRivers | $5.0 million | $115,892 | 2.3% | 1.8% |
| Elite | $2.6 million | $104,281 | 4.0% | <1% |
| Betfred | $1.3 million | (-$42,327) | — | <1% |
| Circa | $1.2 million | (-$34,572) | — | <1% |
| theScore | $916,408 | ($15,425) | — | <1% |
| Hard Rock | $836,114 | $91,334 | 10.9% | <1% |
| Fubo | $428,668 | $54,038 | 12.6% | <1% |
| Bally Bet | $296,851 | $23,732 | 8.0% | <1% |
| Q Sportsbook | $310,964 | $2,295 | 0.7% | <1% |
| Unibet | $278,990 | (-$33,620) | — | <1% |
| Betway | $152,556 | $13,332 | 8.7% | <1% |
| DRF Bets | $60,163 | (-$4,188) | — | <1% |
