Legal sports betting in the Hawkeye State had its best month since March — and if 2021 is any indicator, this should continue through the winter.
After breaking a five-month decline in August, sports betting in Iowa embraced football season with their wallets. The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission reported yesterday that sports betting generated a handle of $200 million in September — a 61% increase from August. Although year over year, September’s handle was 5% less than in 2021.
The massive jump mimicked 2021, when Iowa’s handle nearly doubled from August to September. As expected, online sports betting was by far the most popular way to bet in the Hawkeye State, accounting for 88.6% of the handle and 83.4% of the revenue. The sports betting revenue (both retail and online) also increased by 56.7% percent, up to $25.4 million, from July's $14.4 million.
September’s 12.6% hold was an increase from August’s 11.8% and July’s 10.2%. Each of the 19 casinos and the 18 mobile operators partnered with them paid $1.71 million in taxes compared to $970K in August.
Iowa’s newest operator
ClutchBet opened in Iowa on September 19th, and it appears catching up with DraftKings and FanDuel (the top operators in the state) seems like a steep climb.
In the 10 days of operation, ClutchBet took in $163,263 in wagers, the lowest of the 18 operators — although they were $2,500 short of passing Unibet.
Even getting the $163,263 seemed like a hurdle. With launch promos and boosts, ClutchBet ended with $1,918, a hold percentage of 1.2%, and at the current rate, their full-month handle would be around $500,000, which would rank them 13th of the 18.
Biggest Jump for DRF
The sportsbook with the largest jump in handle from August to September was Daily Racing Forum. DRF got into sports betting earlier this year and, after taking in $203,964 in August, hit $605,106 in September — an increase of 296%.
Their hold percentage increased over that time, and their revenue spiked 487%.
