April’s wagering total was also a 23.1% decrease from March’s $272.4 million handle, which was the sixth highest in Iowa sports betting history.
Iowa’s sports betting operators cashed a total of $16.6 million in net receipts, good for a 7.9% win percentage (hold). Unlike the other metrics, operator revenue was not actually the lowest in 2024. February’s $13.6 million was the low mark, while January drove $22.1 million in revenue for Iowa sportsbooks. March finished with $18.2 million in net receipts from sports betting in Iowa.
State coffers hauled in $1.1 million in taxes, just shy of March’s $1.2 million.
April’s numbers bring Iowa sports betting to the following year-to-date results across all retail and online wagering:
- $2.3 billion in handle
- $183.1 million in total revenue
- $12.4 million in state tax
Yearly Comparisons
Despite low marks compared to the other months of 2024, Iowa sports betting has actually improved its financial performance year-over-year.
April 2023 saw a $172.6 million handle with Iowa sportsbooks generating $14.2 million in revenue from an 8.2% hold. The state drove $958,605.19 in taxes from April last year too, so overall the only metric that didn’t increase year-over-year was the hold percentage.
Best Online Sportsbooks In Iowa
Online sportsbooks in Iowa accounted for 94% of all wagering activity, as the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission reported a $196.6 million online handle in April. This is a month-over-month decline from the $252 million collected by Iowa online sports betting sites in March and is the lowest online handle in 2024 so far. However, April’s online wagering represents a year-over-year increase from the $157.5 million online handle reported in April 2023.
Iowa online sportsbooks generated $15.7 million in revenue, good for a 9.7% hold. March’s action earned the operators $16.6 million in online revenue (6.6% hold), but April’s revenue still represents a year-over-year increase from the $13.4 million (8.5%) earned by operators in April 2023.
DraftKings and Fanduel continued to dominate online sports betting in Iowa last month, accounting for 66% of the total online handle. They were also the only two operators to break the million-dollar mark for revenue.
| Operator | April Handle | Revenue |
|---|---|---|
| DraftKings | $73.1 million | $6.2 million |
| FanDuel | $57.4 million | $5.8 million |
| Caesars | $20.6 million | $964K |
| BetMGM | $14.7 million | $934.3K |
| bet365 | $8.7 million | $604.9K |
| ESPN BET | $7.5 million | $765.3K |
Fanatics missed the Top 6 with a $5.3 million handle in April, just two months after completing the migration from PointsBet to Fanatics Sportsbook.
