BlueBet set for US market entry with Iowa agreement
Australian sports betting operator signs skin agreement with Dubuque Racing Association
BlueBet has signed a skin agreement with Dubuque Racing Association Ltd to enable the Australian sports betting operator to bring its online sportsbook to the state of Iowa.
An entrenched operator in the mature Australia sports betting market, BlueBet has developed its own mobile-first sports betting technology and offers wagering on 31 sports as part of a product suite that includes same-game parlays and exotics, in addition to the standard bet types.
BlueBet will be rolling out a similar B2C offering in Iowa.
The license agreement with Dubuque, which operates the Q Casino, is for an initial term of five years and will automatically renew for an additional five years if BlueBet chooses.
BlueBet selected Iowa for its initial US market entry due to the state’s low capital expenditure requirements and favorable taxation and regulatory requirements, among other factors.
The Hawkeye State is one of five key US states BlueBet is targeting in its US expansion, alongside Colorado, Tennessee, Maryland, and Virginia, with a pending license application in the latter.
“This is a significant milestone in BlueBet’s entry to the US market,” said BlueBet CEO Bill Richmond. “We are taking a very considered, staged approach to market entry in the US, and we are tremendously excited to be announcing this agreement with the Dubuque Racing Association.”
As part of the deal, which is pending regulatory and licensing approval, BlueBet will pay Dubuque a portion of net gaming revenues derived from its online sportsbook operations.
Iowa operators totaled $8.4m in revenue off $111.2m in handle for the month of June, and the state has generated over $1.5bn in bets and $115.7m in revenue since launching mobile and retail sports betting in August 2019.
BlueBet will be joining fellow Australians PointsBet, as well as the likes of DraftKings and FanDuel, in an increasingly competitive Iowa sports betting market.
Investors were quick to back BlueBet following its IPO on the Australian Stock Exchange at the beginning of July.