DraftKings became the first mobile operator aside from William Hill/sports betting in August 2019, according to figures for March released by the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission.
DraftKings, which entered the Hawkeye State in February 2020, accepted $64.9 million in wagers for the month, ing for 31.1% of the overall $208.3 million in mobile bets placed in Iowa. Caesars, which had paced mobile handle in Iowa every month due in part to being available in multiple locations when in-person registration was mandatory through the end of 2020, was a distant second with $49 million in handle.
The overall handle for the state including retail betting was $233.5 million for the month, an 8.2% improvement from February that was boosted by three extra days of wagering and the NCAA Tournament. The tournament, however, helped operators to a mixed degree, given that the Hawkeyes — a trendy Final Four pick after winning the Big Ten tournament — were upset in the first round. Iowa State, though, did surprise in making the regional semifinals as an 11 seed.
Operators claimed more than $14.4 million in revenue, a 68% surge from the previous month, as the win rate was 6.2% — more than two full percentage points higher than February’s hold. The revenue total was the second-highest in state history, trailing only the $19.7 million collected last November.
The state narrowly missed collecting $1 million in tax receipts for what would have been just the second time since launch, finishing $27,009 short.
At $752.8 million, handle is up 65.6% for the first three months of 2022 compared to last year, while revenue is only 14.6% higher because the win rate is 4.7% — nearly 2.5 percentage points lower than a year ago. State tax receipts are $336,928 ahead of their 2021 pace with more than $2.5 million.
Downturn after bright 2022 start for Caesars s3i6p
Caesars/William Hill is still the only mobile operator in Iowa to sur $1 billion in total handle, but its combined February and March handle of $111 million is less than its January total of $112.7 million. DraftKings, which finished second in revenue with nearly $2.8 million, did not have its all-time record handle for March, with its high-water mark of $76.4 million coming last October.
BetMGM pipped Caesars for third in revenue, using a strong 10% hold to finish third with nearly $2.3 million, about $90,000 more than Caesars.
Barstool Sportsbook continued to strengthen its hold on fifth for handle since entering last November, improving 19.3% from February to $7.4 million. It has averaged more than $8 million handle in its first five months of operation and is less than $6,000 shy of $1 million in revenue in the state after keeping nearly $430,000 worth of wagers placed in March.
After a run of 10 consecutive months generating at least $1 million in handle, Penn National Gaming brethren theScore Bet has yet to do so in 2022, as it totaled slightly more than $750,000 for March. Its handle for the month was 67.7% lower than its peak of $2.3 million last September.
The overall mobile win rate was a shade over 6%, which was the highest since 6.5% in November but also the seventh straight month it was below the industry standard of 7%.
Diamond Jo properties swing back to positive 70x3b
After the Super Bowl likely contributed to operator revenue losses totaling more than $180,000 in February at both Diamond Jo sportsbooks in Worth and Dubuque, the two venues bounced back to finish nearly $530,000 ahead in March. Diamond Jo’s Worth location came close to $8 million handle for the second time since launch and claimed $353,006, while the Dubuque location posted a strong 22.7% win rate as it collected more than $175,000 from just under $775,000 wagered.
On the western side of the state, Ameristar in Council Bluffs topped $5 million handle for the sixth time in seven months and reported more than $430,000 in revenue. Its $1.4 million revenue for the first three months of the year leads all retail locations and represents 28.6% of the overall $4.9 million claimed by brick-and-mortar sportsbooks in Iowa this year thus far.
Retail operators had a 7.3% hold in March, claiming more than $1.8 million in revenue from $25.3 million wagered. It was the ninth time in 30 months of wagering (when ing for months casinos were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic) that retail handle cleared $25 million.
