Iowa has enjoyed another solid payout as January’s numbers for the state are already in, indicating a particularly strong beginning of the year. According to data released by the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission on Friday, the total sports betting handle for the last month reached $303.3 million. The Buckeye State has been cashing in on the growing interest in legal sports betting.

Iowa Sets New Records in January

With the Super Bowl handle to be processed over the coming weeks, things are looking up for the United States as one of the busiest sports betting markets. Iowa is also setting a record of its own in January, with the state crossing the $300-million threshold for the very first time, up from the last $287 million records clocked in November last year.

Iowa’s overall sports betting handle has passed the $3-billion mark, a watershed used by analysts to track the progress of sports gambling markets in the United States. Legal sports brought some $14.3 million in revenues to sports betting operators, up 6.7% from the December numbers. While overall betting handle surged, the total revenue to operators – and by extension to the state – dwindled and was a far cry from the $19.7 million in taxable revenue acquired by sportsbooks.

This is understandable given the state of sports betting in the US, with bettors often proving too smart for even the best bookies. This means that $275.9 million was paid back to bettors, as confirmed by the gaming commission. Much of this total handle was amassed by Caesars Sportsbook, which saw a total of $112.7 million worth of wagers placed with its brand, over a third of the total. DraftKings managed to come in second with $68.9 million, but it achieved a better revenue.

FanDuel and DraftKings Achieve Good Hold

Apparently, Caesars clocked in $2.8 million compared to $3 million for DraftKings. DraftKings boss Jason Robins famously said that the operator was interested in recreational bettors as opposed to the “sharps,” i.e., the people who are trying to win money by using analytics.

His statement upset many people, but it shows that DraftKings may be onto a good thing, which could cost it in terms of total betting handle, but it still manages to outperform others. FanDuel brought an even better overall performance with $3.5 million in revenue, even though it only collected $44.1 million of wagers. In terms of “hold” or how much each sportsbook has been able to retain, FanDuel runs 8% against only 3% for Caesars.