Iowa casinos take nearly $40 million of wagers in first full month of legal sports gambling

Iowa casinos processed close to $40 million in sports wagers in September, the first full month of legalized sports gambling, according to revenue figures posted late this week by the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission.

Fifteen of Iowa’s 18 licensed casinos were processing bets last month. (The state’s three Wild Rose properties went live with sports wagering in early October.) The “handle,” or total amount of money wagered, eclipsed $38.5 million, with net revenue totaling $4,956,347. That’s a hold of 12.9%, and sportsbooks are generally happy if numbers reach the high single digits.
Iowa became the 11th state to legalize sports wagering when betting went live Aug. 15. The state's casinos reported about $8.5 million in wagers over the first two weeks in sportsbook operation. No state bordering Iowa has legal sports wagering.

But September was the real measuring stick for three reasons: the full kickoff of college and professional football seasons; an entire month's worth of wagering; and, most importantly, having mobile betting applications up and running.

Nearly $21.8 million, or 56.6%, of the casinos' total September handle arrived through internet wagering. Prairie Meadows in Altoona accounted for $14.526 million of the state's sports wagering total, and a staggering $12.963 million (89.2%) came from mobile betting.

Prairie Meadows' handle was almost four times larger than that of the next-busiest casino: the Ameristar in Council Bluffs ($3.798 million), which is not yet taking mobile wagers.

The state of Iowa receives 6.75% in tax revenue on the casinos' net receipts. The September total was $334,553, according to the commission's data. The state netted almost $146,000 in taxes in the two operational weeks in August.

Whether online or in person, the immediate results are anecdotally pleasing casino operators, according to commission administrator Brian Ohorilko. Individual bet totals on the marquee Iowa-Iowa State football game from Sept. 14 were not immediately available.

"There were a lot of busy books that weekend, and we're still hearing reports on Saturdays and Sundays that there are lines out the doors of many sportsbooks," he said. "So we've definitely seen some big days."

Thanks to the mobile option, the initial casino handles far eclipse that of states similarly sized in population. For example, Iowa's total outpaces the September 2018 totals in Mississippi ($31.8 million), Delaware ($14.4 million) and West Virginia ($7.33 million), according to data compiled by the Legal Sports Report.

Iowa even outslugged Indiana, more than double the Hawkeye State's size by population, in September handles. The Hoosier State brought in $35.2 million in wagers. Expect that superiority to be short-lived, however, as the state just began its mobile wagering operation in early October.

The most positive early trend from the betting numbers was the potential secondary benefit casinos are seeing from bettors physically traveling to sportsbooks to place wagers, Ohorilko said. Under state law, all prospective bettors are required to set foot in an Iowa casino either to place a bet or to register for a casino's mobile app.

Ohorilko said casinos are seeing an overall 7% revenue increase so far in the 2020 fiscal year, which began July 1. Sports wagering is a factor, in that respect, but he said casinos have seen a 6% increase in table game receipts the past three months.