ClutchBet made its United States debut on Monday when it announced that it became the 18th operator to offer sports betting in Iowa.
The deal sees ClutchBet partnered with Q Casino (and its owner, the Dubuque Racing Association) to offer online sports betting for five years, with an option for an additional five. Three other locations — Gary Dolphins Iron Bar in Dubuque, The Leaderboard Sports Bar in North Liberty, and the Vine Tavern Eatery in Iowa City — will offer legal sports betting via ClutchBet Lounges.
"Sports fans in Iowa deserve a memorable betting experience and we are thrilled to make our U.S. debut in a state with an incredibly rich sporting history and legion of passionate sports fans," said Jake Francis, SVP of Operations for ClutchBet in a statement.
The Iowa launch is just the start of an aggressive U.S. expansion plan for ClutchBet, which currently has 10-year market access agreements in Colorado, Louisiana, and Indiana.
ClutchBet is a subsidiary of BlueBet, an Australian company founded in 2015, and although the company currently holds just 1.5% of the sports betting activity in Australia, officials said they are on track to have 5% of the market share by 2025.
It is part of a strategy the company calls its "capital lite" plan for the U.S. ClutchBet also wants to promote a b2b sportsbook-as-solution for companies desiring to operate a sportsbook.
Making a splash in Iowa
In conjunction with its Iowa debut, ClutchBet is offering some special launch offers.
The first is a risk-free bet up to $500. The second concerns Iowa and Iowa State football spread bets — winning point spread bets on either hometown program will be paid out at +150 for the remainder of the season (normally, spread bets are priced at -110).
The last promotion is a section of the website that will have daily boosted game odds on different sports that will be called ClutchPicks.
"The ClutchBet slogan is 'For the Win', and with its combined decades of sports betting industry experience, the ClutchBet team is determined to deliver Iowans a winning wagering product," said ClutchBet's SVP Marketing Sean Phinney.
Iowa enjoys higher numbers
Sports betting figures have been down over the summer months but Iowa books really took a beating. The state suffered a four-month streak of declining handle, but fortunately, August snapped that slump.
The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission reported nearly two weeks ago that August saw the highest handle in the state since March when Iowans wagered $122.6 million in August, a 12.9% increase from July, and now football season is in full swing.
