A tame March Madness was a boon to bettors as most sportsbooks' revenues declined.
Key takeways
- Betting action rose 33% over February, thanks to heavy college basketball wagering.
- Hawkeye State betting handle was up, but a lack of March Madness upsets helped bettors and hurt sportsbooks.
- DraftKings built on its lead as Iowa's most popular sports wagering operator.
March has a reputation of bringing more action to the books, but unfortunately that didn’t bring good news to many of Iowa’s operators. The Iowa Gaming and Racing Commission reported Hawkeye State sportsbooks took in $287.8 million in wagers last month, $71 million more, and 33% higher, than February. Compared to this time last year, Iowa’s betting market grew by nearly $40 million.
However, more bets didn't translate to more sportsbook revenue. The lack of upsets during March Madness college basketball tournaments helped the average bettor (and their parlays) and hurt operators’ bottom lines. In the end, statewide books reported $15.7 million in net receipts, after paying out winning tickets, 26% lower than February.
The revenue drop really only hurt online Iowa sports betting sites, physical locations actually enjoyed an income spike from $354,000 to $689,000, although the difference shows how much bettors flock to mobile operators to place their bets. The Horseshoe Casino in Council Bluffs topped the competition with $246,000 in profit.
DraftKings builds on its popularity in Iowa
DraftKings is Iowa’s biggest sportsbook and grew its lead in March, despite declining revenue. In February, DK enjoyed $19 million in higher handle and $700,000 in higher revenue than rival FanDuel. In March, the difference in action between the two top dogs grew to $24 million and $1.2 million in net receipts, respectively.
Other Hawkeye State winners were Fanatics, Circa Sports, and BetRivers, the only three sportsbooks (of the 14 taking action in Iowa) to report a monthly increase in both handle and profit (and more than $2 million in overall haul).
ESPN Bet was the lone operator on the list to see a drop in both handle and income.
| Mobile Operator | March Handle | Revenue |
| DraftKings | $100.9 million | $5.6 million |
| FanDuel | $76.7 million | $4.4 million |
| Caesars | $30.3 million | $1.6 million |
| BetMGM | $18.3 million | $856,000 |
| bet365 | $13.8 million | $587,000 |
| Fanatics | $13.2 million | $1 million |
| ESPN Bet | $6.8 million | $473,000 |
| Circa Sports | $3.5 million | $212,000 |
| BetRivers | $2.5 million | $229,000 |
