Iowa’s sports betting handle went through some recent highs and lows. October was bad, November was good, and now December dropped down again. The Iowa Gaming and Racing Commission announced the state’s sportsbooks accepted $293.1 million in December wagers, down 7% from the previous month. Although it was 3.6% higher than a year ago, December's contraction isn't surprising, since the previous three years saw a smaller December handle compared to November.
After paying out winners, the state’s sportsbooks, both online and retail, ended with $13.2 million in net receipts, which unfortunately is well below the $30 million hold they took home in November. That means Iowa bettors reduced sportsbooks' hold percent to 4.5%. In comparison, the previous month’s hold was 9.5%.
In another bit of bad news for operators, revenue was also half of December 2023's. Retail books saw the worst decline but when hold is cut in half, all the books suffer. However, bettors certainly enjoyed a relatively good month.
Physical sportsbooks hurting
Despite Iowa seeing a slightly higher handle year-over-year, brick-and-mortar locations didn’t enjoy any increased action. Instead, their handle fell from $24.4 million to $20 million compared to 2023. On top of that, not only did their revenue drop, their net revenue was in the red, losing $545,000 in December.
Of the 16 casinos with a sportsbook, only eight paid out less than they took in. Just two locations had $50,000 or more in net receipts after paying out winning tickets.
Good news and bad for online sportsbooks
When handle and revenue fall month-over-month, usually every book feels the sting, but oddly last month some operators were feeling good.
BetMGM and bet365 both saw an increase in handle, although not enough to move them up in the popularity rankings. On the revenue side, BetRivers and Circa Sports enjoyed an increase. By contrast, ESPN Bet saw the worst of it as net receipts fell by 95%.
Below are the sportsbooks reporting more than $3 million in handle.
| Mobile Operator | December Handle | Revenue |
| DraftKings | $99.3 million | $5.5 million |
| FanDuel | $78.4 million | $5.1 million |
| Caesars | $27.2 million | $1 million |
| BetMGM | $24.1 million | $349,000 |
| bet365 | $17.4 million | $978,000 |
| Fanatics | $9.5 million | $593,000 |
| ESPN Bet | $7.9 million | $29,000 |
| BetRivers | $3.5 million | $158,000 |
| Circa Sports | $3.4 million | $36,000 |
