DraftKings and FanDuel saw the lion's share of income growth.
Key takeaways
- Handle fell for operators across the board.
- Retail books held 2.5% of their wagers.
- DraftKings and FanDuel claimed nearly the entire amount of revenue increases.
As the weather gets warmer, bettors have fewer reasons to wager and operators start to feel the pinch. However, as far as April is concerned there's still money to be had. The Iowa Gaming and Racing Commission announced Hawkeye State sportsbooks accepted $215.5 million in April bets, $72 million lower than the previous month. This is the lowest handle in 2025 and these woes will likely continue. In the past four years, April kicked off a four-month streak of ever decreasing handle.
Iowa sportsbooks did report a year-over-year action increase, albeit by just $6 million. But the real growth came with operators’ revenue. March Madness' first few rounds were good for bettors, but with Duke and #1 seed Auburn losing, April was certainly more profitable. Despite the handle drop, in the end April’s bottom line was better than March.
After paying out winning tickets, both online and retail sportsbooks kept $18.7 million, an 8.6% hold. But breaking down the numbers, online books had significantly better luck. Those operators reported a 9% hold, while the retail market combined for just 2.5%.
For physical locations, there wasn’t a huge gap between the biggest winner and loser, they all struggled in April. The Horseshoe Casino in Council Bluffs topped the competition again with $168,000 in net proceeds, nearly $80,000 lower than March. Diamond Jo lost the most, paying out $64,000 more than it took in.
Online books benefit the most
April's winners are DraftKings and FanDuel, not just because they're the most popular operators in Iowa. Revenue wise, they saw large growth the smaller books (combined) didn't enjoy. From March to April, across the board profit rose by roughly $3 million, but DraftKings and FanDuel together made up $3.4 million, while the smaller books as a whole lost income from March to April.
Not counting DK and FD, bet365 was the only operator with a $2+ million handle to see its profit rise in April.
| Mobile Operator | April Handle | Revenue |
|---|---|---|
| DraftKings | $74.5 million | $7.4 million |
| FanDuel | $62.5 million | $5.9 million |
| Caesars | $19.5 million | $1.5 million |
| BetMGM | $14.1 million | $781,000 |
| bet365 | $12.5 million | $1 million |
| Fanatics | $9 million | $900,000 |
| ESPN Bet | $4.4 million | $463,000 |
| BetRivers | $2.4 million | $125,000 |
