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Iowa smashes sports betting handle record again in October

News

Consumers in Iowa spent a total of $280.9m betting on sports during October, marking the second consecutive month in which the US state set a new handle record.

Revenue in October amounted to $6.6m, up 27.8% year-on-year from $2.8m in October of 2020 and also 14.7% higher than the $5.7m generated in September this year – ending three consecutive months of revenue decline.

Online betting accounted for $3.5m of total revenue for October, while revenue from retail wagering reached $3.0m.

Looking at handle, player spending was up 243.0% year-on-year from $81.9m in October 2020 for a new record high, marking a 33.5% increase on the previous record of $210.4m set in September this year.

Consumers spent $249.1m betting on sports online, as well as $31.0m at retail sportsbooks across the state.

Breaking down performance by operator, Diamond Jo in Dubuque, which runs a FanDuel sportsbook, was the most successful with $2.2m in revenue off of $39.4m in wagers.

Sister property Diamond Jo in Worth, which also has a FanDuel sportsbook, was the only other operator to report a combined retail and online revenue in excess of $1.0m, with this reaching $1.2m for the month and handle $25.5m.

Caesars Entertainment’s Isle Casino Hotel in Waterloo took the most wagers in the state during October – $47.3m – but ended the month with a combined online and retail loss of $292,937.

It was a similar story for online as FanDuel led the way for online sports operators with $2.1m in revenue and handle of $38.1m.

Caesars Entertainment (American Wagering) took the most online bets, processing a total of $97.0m for the month, but posted an online loss of $1.6m after players won $98.6m.

October also saw the Fubo Gaming subsidiary of streaming provider fuboTV launch its new Fubo Sportsbook in Iowa, marking its entrance into the US market. The operator processed $21,589 in online sports bets during its first weeks in Iowa, posting a small loss of $4,972.

Betway also went live in Iowa last month after securing a license in the state.