The dog days of the sports betting summer are now behind us, the 2024 football season is underway, and sports betting numbers are climbing.
The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission (IRGC) reported figures for August, and Iowa sportsbooks tallied a $166.99 million total handle to jump over 20% month-over-month compared to July’s $138.1 million of action.
Operators harvested $15.76 million in revenue from August’s wagering activity thanks to a 9.43% hold, which was 13.5% better than the previous month’s revenue haul.
State coffers benefitted from more than $1.06 million of tax contributions. Iowa sports betting has driven more than $16.3 million in tax contributions in 2024 through August as well.
Yearly gains
The Iowa sports betting market is growing overall.
August 2023 saw $141.3 million in wagers and $13.51 million in total operator revenue, so last month’s marks accounted for 18.2% and 16.6% year-over-year increases, respectively.
Best sportsbooks in Iowa
Online sports betting sites rule the roost in the Hawkeye State, accounting for nearly 94% of all wagers in August and more than 82% of Iowa sports betting revenue.
Retail sportsbooks in Iowa generated $2.71 million in revenue from a $10.88 million handle, which is a respectable 24.88% hold.
Four online sportsbooks in Iowa beat that handle mark though, with DraftKings taking the top spot far and away with its $64.32 million handle. FanDuel’s came in just under half of its archrival with $36.94 million.
Caesars and BetMGM were the only other Iowa online sportsbooks to break the eight-figure handle mark, while five others hauled in seven-figures in online bets (bet365, ESPN BET, Fanatics, Circa, Rush Street Interactive).
| Operator | August Handle | Revenue |
|---|---|---|
| DraftKings | $64.32 million | $5.42 million |
| FanDuel | $36.94 million | $3.31 million |
| Caesars | $16.61 million | $993,000 |
| BetMGM | $13.57 million | $1.44 million |
| bet365 | $8.10 million | $692,400 |
| ESPN BET | $5.07 million | $352,300 |
| Fanatics | $4.76 million | $374,300 |
| Circa | $2.06 million | $92,000 |
| Rush Street Interactive | $2.30 million | $214,100 |
Australian-owned ClutchBet, one of the smaller online sportsbooks in Iowa, announced its departure from all U.S. markets, including Iowa, at the end of August after not even mustering a $500,000 monthly handle in the state.
Tough news
Iowa sports betting has made headlines in recent memory for a lot of the wrong reasons. An alarming number of Iowa and Iowa State college athletes were embroiled in a controversial gambling scandal, which pitted law enforcement integrity against the integrity of college athletics.
Although charges were eventually dismissed for DeShawn Hanika and some of the other athletes caught up in the case, Hanika announced in August a partnership with sports betting watchdog Integrity Compliance (IC36) to educate young athletes, coaches, and others around collegiate sports about problematic gambling and consequences towards the integrity of the game.
“We are proud to partner with DeShawn and provide him with a platform to share his experience and build on IC360’s vision to pioneer a new standard in integrity training and education integrity training within the sports industry,” Scott Sadin, IC360’s COO, said of the partnership. “By blending lived experience solutions with cutting-edge technology, we’re not just raising the bar - we’re redefining it.”
