March Madness can’t come soon enough in the Hawkeye State. With just the Super Bowl to keep bettors interested, its no surprise that sports betting action fell from January to February.
The Iowa Gaming and Racing Commission reported $220.5 million in wagers in February, down nearly $40 million from the $259.4 million the month before.
Perhaps Iowa bettors knew to fade the San Francisco 49ers, because the sportsbooks grossed just $13.6 million last month, a 38% month-over-month decline. The hold percentage was just 6.2%. That means the state’s coffers took a hit, seeing just $936,000 compared to the nearly $1.5 million from January.
The retail market share, while already low, took a slight hit and dropped from 8% of all wagers to 7.5%.
Sportsbooks jockeying for 3rd
While DraftKings and FanDuel are still top dogs in the Hawkeye State, there is still movement in the three sportsbooks who are fighting for third in Iowa sports betting.
DraftKings was the top operator with $81.3 million in wagers and $5.9 million in revenue. FanDuel was next with $55.4 million in handle and $4.6 million in revenue.
While Caesars maintained its spot in third place, it did cost the book as revenue dropped to less than $1 million. The handle was $23.2 million. BetMGM moved up to fourth with $1.1 million in revenue and nearly half as much handle ($12 million).
ESPN BET dropped to fifth with $10.7 million in bets and a little more than $500,000 in net gains. No other sportsbook saw more than $10 million in wagers.
