Sports betting in Iowa has been trending lower, and June was no exception.
The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission reported on Friday that retail and mobile sportsbooks handled $122.4 million in wagers for June, down around 17% from May but still 10% higher than a year earlier.
Legal sports betting in Iowa brought in $6.6 million in revenue for June, which is a hold of 5.4%. Both numbers are lower than May’s report, when operators took in $147.9 million in bets and reported a win percentage of 8.5%.
June was also the last month for theScore Bet in the state. With Penn National Gaming acquiring Score Media and Gaming Inc. in October 2021, the Pennsylvania-based company decided to highlight their Barstool Sportsbook for U.S. bettors, while theScore Bet focuses on the Canadian market.
Iowans appeared ready for the loss and bet elsewhere. In May, theScore had a handle of $222,366 while in June it dropped roughly 85% to $34,640. That same month Barstool took in nearly $4 million in wagers. DraftKings led all online sportsbooks in Iowa with $32.3 million in bets for June, followed by FanDuel ($30.6 million), and Caesars ($22.7 million).
June’s $446,594 in taxes from sports betting was the lowest total for the state in 2022 and 48% lower than May.
State coffers still filling
Despite the recent downturn, Iowa sports betting as a whole has been bringing in revenue that’s surprising state representatives.
“The money coming in is maybe a little more than expected,” Iowa House Speaker Pat Grassley reportedly said in January.
“We're looking at doing some things with it that benefit Iowans. So we're going to engage in those conversations,” he added.
Iowa has one of the lowest tax rates in the country at 6.75% and their initial $45,000 licensing fee has enticed a large number of sportsbooks, 18 in total. Unlike other states that designate where their gambling revenue goes, Iowa puts it all in its general fund.
The legislature has not shied away from tweaking their original sports betting bill. Last month, Governor Kim Reynolds signed HF 2497, expanding the types of bets Iowans are allowed to make, although an esports betting provision did not make the final bill.
