The latest monthly revenue report from the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission (IRGC) shows that the state’s licensed sports betting operators accepted $303.3 million in wagers throughout the month of January.
The latest figures show a rise of 13.8% in wagers from the previous month’s sports betting handle of $266.5 million as gamblers helped sportsbooks set an all-time monthly record for the state. The previous record was set in November 2021 when sportsbooks accepted over $287.6 million in wagers.
Online sports wagers accounted for 90.93% of all sports betting activity during the month of January as mobile sports betting apps accepted over $275.86 in wagers—setting another all-time record for Iowa. Meanwhile, the state’s retail sportsbooks took in $27.4 million in wagers, up 10.5% on the previous month. Despite mobile and retail setting an all-time record for combined wagers accepted during a single month, retail sports wagering still fell short of breaking the $30.9 million record set in October of 2021.
Payouts through online sportsbooks amounted to $263.8 million while retail payouts came to $25.2 million for the month. Online net receipts for the month totaled just over $12 million while retail receipts came to $2.2 million. As a result, sports wagering taxes collected by the state amounted to $964,525.43. This was a slight increase on the $957,637 paid in December and fell way short of November’s record tax yield of just over $2 million.
The Isle Casino Hotel Waterloo retained its place as the market leader by accepting over $70.3 million in wagers during the month, a jump of 49.9% on the previous month. Diamond Jo Dubuque was a distant second in the race for market supremacy with a handle of $45.5 million.
The IRGC also gave a breakdown of online sports betting activity reveling that the mobile market leader was American Wagering Inc. who accepted over $112.6 million in wagers through its mobile sports betting apps. Crown IA Gaming was the nearest competitor with an online handle of $68.9 million.
Image credit: Baishampayan Ghose / CC BY-SA 2.0
An experienced iGaming commentator and analyst based in New York City - Jenny reports on regulation and gambling industry news and events.