Iowa Sports Betting Continues Growth in October

Iowa sports betting surpassed $80 million in October. The Hawkeye State saw its betting handle hit $81.9 million, a 13% increase from September’s $72.4 million betting handle.

This is impressive for the state as the sports calendar has shifted from all four major sports playing to just football and playoff baseball. Five of the size NBA Finals games were played at the beginning of October, which helped slightly as the calendar shifted.

Sports betting increased over 76% year-over-year from the October 2019 betting handle of $46.5 million. Both retail and mobile betting increased in the month as the state’s sports betting industry grew. William Hill also entered the Iowa market last month, helping the state see more growth.

Iowa’s betting numbers will be a sign of more growth throughout the U.S. October saw less on the sports calendar, but the demand for football and playoff baseball betting is still there.

Iowa by the Numbers

Iowa again sees boosts across the board. The handle increased to over $81 million last month, along with revenue hitting $9.1 million, and the state collected $613,000 in taxes.

The revenue spike is nice to see for the state and sports. September numbers usually show a lower handle and taxes due to a high influx of sign-ups before the football season begins. New users mean more bonus money and free play money is thrown into the mix, and sportsbooks cannot count that towards the books until it hits playthrough requirements.

William Hill entered the Iowa market last month and dominated October. The U.K. betting operator saw close to $35 million in bets through them last month. Mobile betting has also begun to take over in Iowa. $56.9 million was bet online compared to the retail handle sitting at $25 million.

What has helped Iowa is Big Ten football coming back in October. The state was able to capitalize on two games at the end of October, and thanks to sportsbooks near the Iowa-Nebraska border, they most likely saw money come over from Nebraska to get in on the action.

The mobile handle is beginning to grow and should continue to see growth as we near 2021 and beyond. Iowans cannot bet online unless they create an account at a sportsbook. However, after 2020, Iowa will allow people to create betting accounts online instead of in-person.

This should help increase the mobile betting handle as it will become more convenient to create an account and bet online instead of betting in-person.

Will Iowa See More Growth?

Iowa’s betting handle is still increasing, but the growth is starting to slow. What will be interesting to watch is how William Hill does in the first full month in the Iowa market. This could help see another great jump in the betting handle, depending on the traffic the sportsbook sees.

A full month of Big Ten football will also help, especially near the Iowa-Nebraska border and near the Iowa-Minnesota border. Even as the betting handle increased from September to October, there could be another jump next month with the football being in the heart of its season.