The sports betting industry in the state of Iowa was off to a great start before the coronavirus pandemic slowed things down. Now that live sports have started to resume throughout the United States, and the state is seeing a huge boost again.
Things should continue to improve for the industry in Iowa now that FanDuel Sportsbook is officially up and running. FanDuel is one of the biggest names in the industry, and bettors in the Hawkeye State have been anxiously awaiting launch.
FanDuel launched both online and retail sports betting on September 3, and it won’t take the company long to make some noise. FanDuel was able to enter the state of Iowa through a partnership with Boyd Gaming.
Iowa is now the 7th state where FanDuel is offering their sports betting services, and they launched in Illinois just days before the Iowa announcement. Even though FanDuel will become a leader, registration requirements will likely delay the process for some time.
Iowa has an in-person registration requirement when signing up for an account, but that goes away on January 1, 2021. Users that want to bet on FanDuel will have to visit a Diamond Jo Casino in either Dubuque or Northwood.
FanDuel will have plenty of competition in the Hawkeye State as PointsBet, William Hill, and DraftKings are already up and running in the state. FanDuel has been offering some exciting promotions in Iowa in an effort to attract new customers.
Betting Handle Up 120 Percent
The announcement from FanDuel was great news for the sports betting industry in Iowa, but the state was also pleased with the huge numbers from August. Sports betting handle increased by more than 120 percent from July, and that figure will likely go up again in September.
Iowa reported a total sports betting handle of $50,313,674, much more than the $22.8 million reported in July. Sports betting revenue was more than $3 million, which was a 34% increase over July.
Mobile sports betting continues to lead the way in Iowa, despite the state requiring in-person registration before bettors can place bets on their mobile app. Mobile sports betting accounted for almost 70 percent of the entire handle in August.
The $50.3 million sports betting handle figure in August is very close to the state’s numbers before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. The betting handle was near $57 million in February, the last full month of operations for the state.
The return of live sports throughout the United States played a huge role in the betting handle increase, and September brings the start of NFL Football. Betting on the NFL is the most popular sport in the US, and sportsbooks post huge numbers during the season.
The Prairie Meadows Casino was the industry leader in August, and they brought in more than $14 million in the betting handle. Almost 94 percent of that handle came from mobile betting.