Iowa sports betting handle leaps 154% YoY in December
Hawkeye State revenue slumps 32.3% month over month as Caesars takes the market-share lead
Sports betting handle in Iowa soared 154% year on year in December with Hawkeye State sportsbooks handling $266.5m in bets during the final month of 2021.
Latest data from the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission reveals December was the third-highest handle ever, beating a previous September 2021 high of $210.4m.
However, the figures are down from the two preceding months, with Iowa reporting a $287.2m handle in November and $280.9m in October.
The state’s 17 sportsbook operators generated $13.4m in revenue during December, down almost a third on a month over month basis from November, when operators generated $19.7m in revenue.
However, the figure was up a whopping 101.5% on revenue generated in October, when Hawkeye State operators generated $6.6m.
Iowa state authorities collected $957,637 in taxes from the state’s licensed operators in December.
At a 2022 fiscal year level, Iowa sports bettors placed $1.25bn in bets during the first six months, starting in July 2021.
By means of comparison, Iowa sports bettors wagered $1.2bn in the 2021 fiscal year.
A substantial 90.7% of total handle (retail plus online) generated in December was made up of online bets.
Caesars accounted for 37.3% of the market in December, beating DraftKings with 29.9% and FanDuel with 14.8% of the Iowa sports betting market.