Iowa Hits Sports Betting Milestone
The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission has come out with the May sports betting report for the state, and it’s one that comes with mixed results. Iowa sportsbooks were able to hit a milestone with the May totals, but there was also a touch of expected disappointment.
The total sports betting handle for the month was $147.9 million, which is a pretty low number compared to other states in the U.S. This was also a decrease of 17% from the April total sports betting handle that was $177.4 million.
There are 18 online sportsbooks available in the state of Iowa, but betting action has continued to trend downward over the last few months. Even though the May total was lowa has now gone over the $1 billion mark in total sports betting handle for the year.
One trend that hasn’t changed in Iowa is the fact that most of the bets continue to be placed online. Even though there are retail sportsbooks located throughout the state, online wagering accounted for 91% of all wagers placed.
The total sports betting handle for the month checked in at $12.6 million which allowed the state to bring in over $850,000 in tax revenue.
DraftKings in Top Spot
Caesars Sportsbook has been the top online sports betting option in Iowa for a majority of the time, but that has shifted over the last three months. DraftKings was once again the online sports betting leader in May, just as it has been since March.
The total handle for DraftKings came in at $38.5 million, but the biggest surprise might have come at the next position. FanDuel Sportsbook posted a total handle of $31 million which put it just ahead of Caesars Sportsbook at $30.1 million.
June will represent the final month of the fiscal year, and Caesars has had the highest handle in seven of the first 11 months. BetMGM checked in at fourth place for the month of May with a total sports betting handle of $16.4 million.
Iowa Continues to See Growth
Even though Iowa saw a decrease in sports betting from the month of April, this is a trend that will be seen nationally. May is typically a slow month for legal sports betting as there just aren’t as many options to wager on.
The May sports betting handle was still an increase of nearly 30 percent from the May 2021 total, and that shows how much this industry has grown. There is still a chance that Iowa could become an even bigger online sports betting market as there are still some sports betting licenses available.
Iowa didn’t hit the $1 billion mark in total sports betting handle until August in 2021, and the state is own pace to set a new record in 2022.
