Iowa sports betting continued its positive momentum, posting another monthly increase in legal sports betting handle following last month’s huge spike in wagers.
The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission reported today that sports betting generated $238.7 million in wagers for October — a 16% increase from September's figures.
Year-over-year, however, showed a surprising pullback in sports wagering as the Octobers 2021 handle was $280.9 million... 15% higher than this October.
Iowa’s sports betting revenue (including both retail and online sports betting sites) fell by 24% from the previous month. Successful bettors were the reason for the decline down to $19.4 million in revenue, as sportsbooks kept just 8% of the wagers they took in, breaking a three-month streak of double-digit hold rates and well down from September’s 12.6% win rate.
The state’s 19 casinos and 19 mobile partners ended up paying $1.29 million in taxes, compared to $1.7 in September.
SuperBook says hello to Iowa
On October 27, the SuperBook started accepting bets in the Hawkeye State, taking in $39,236 in wagers as the Las Vegas-based operator tries to break into a competitive market.
Fellow newcomer ClutchBet made its U.S. debut in Iowa in late September and in its first 10 days hit $163,263 in bets. Now, in its first full month of operation, ClutchBet ranked 14th of the state’s 19 sportsbooks in terms of handle.
Unibet and Fubo say goodbye
While SuperBook sees potential in the Iowa market, both Unibet and Fubo Sportsbook don’t appear to be that confident.
Kindred Group Plc, the parent company of Unibet, announced in its Q3 earnings call that it will be pulling out of the Hawkeye state to focus on other territories.
FuboTV, on the other hand, first looked for a partner to help with its struggling sportsbook, then announced it was ceasing all Fubo Sportsbook operations, and most recently hinted that the book is still alive — and still looking for a partner.
October’s report perfectly illustrated the financial burden for both companies in the state. Unibet was last of the 18 sportsbooks that were operational for the entire month... and Fubo Sportsbook was second last.
On top of that, both were not profitable this month: Unibet paid out $22,171 more than they took in and Fubo paid out $43,052 over their handle, joining Q Sportsbook, Betway, and TwinSpires as Iowa sportsbooks that lost money in October.
