Sportsbooks in Iowa set yet another record month in October, collecting more than $280 million in wagers and topped its previous record in September by a mouth-watering $70 million.
Another Record Month in October
With one extra weekend of football, October was always expected to set a new record but few could predict that the difference would be that big, or that the last three-month bets total of nearly $600 million would exceed all of 2020 total of $575.2 million.
On top of the 5th football weekend, the roster of sports betting operators in the state increased with the soft launch of Fubo Sportsbook on September 23, while Betway and Circa Sports went live on October 1 and October 17, respectively.
Following on the trajectory established in September when sportsbooks in the Hawkeye State registered $210.4 million in bets, online and retail sports betting operators in the state managed to gobble 33% more from bettors in October, up 243% compared to the bet total in October 2020. On a daily basis, Iowa bettors averaged $9.1 million, three-and-a-half times more than the October 2020 average.
The record in wagers led to an increase of taxable revenue by 14.7% on a sequential basis, from $5.7 million in September, to $6.6 million in October. Year-over-year, taxable revenue more than doubled.
89% of the total, or $249.9 million of wagers, came through online betting, leaving the remaining $31 million to retail sportsbook operations. Online wagering brought to sportsbooks $3.5 million in revenue, while retail betting accounted for $3 million in net receipts.
Caesars Leads the Pack
The biggest winner among the operators was again Caesars, having generated $97 million in wagers, significantly up from the $66.5 the online sportsbook generated in the previous month. Boston-based DraftKings ranked second, but unlike Caesars, which finished with a $1.6 million revenue loss, DraftKings managed to gain $1.4 million.
Retail sportsbook operations ranked Diamond Jo Worth first, with $7.2 million in bets, with Ameristar Consil Bluffs breathing down its neck with $7.1 million in wagers. Despite the close wager total, both casinos ended with different net receipts, $788,755 and $601,591, respectively.
Iowa sportsbooks have accepted to date $2.3 billion in wagers since launching and the number of operators continues to grow, intensifying competition and promising even more in bonuses for state bettors.
Following the launch of Barstool Sportsbook on November 2, Iowa is now featuring 17 online sports betting operators, the most per capita in the US. That number is set to increase as more companies intend to enter soon.