The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission (IRGC) recently unveiled the financial report for the concluding month of 2023, shedding light on the state’s sports betting landscape.
According to the report, the state registered a betting handle of $282.7 million in December, reflecting a marginal decrease of 2.4% compared to the previous month’s figure of $289.7 million.
However, when compared to the corresponding month of the previous year, the December handle marks a substantial increase of 23.0%, surpassing the $229.9 million recorded in December 2022.
Online bettors led the way, contributing significantly to the total betting activity with $258.3 million in wagers. In contrast, retail locations in Iowa generated $24.4 million during the same period.
The cumulative sports betting handle for 2023 reached $2.4 billion in December, marking a 3% increase compared to the total handle recorded in 2022.
Iowa Revenue Hits New-High in December
Iowa capped an impressive calendar year with a $26.3 million surge in betting revenue.
This figure reflects a 28.9% growth compared to the betting revenue in December 2022, which stood at $20.4 million. Remarkably, the revenue for December showed an 86.5% increase compared to the previous month’s total of $14.1 million.
The online segment played a significant role in this surge, accumulating $23.6 million, whereas the retail sector secured $2.7 million in revenue.
In contrast to the 4.9% hold observed in November, which ended a four-month streak of a 9.5% hold, operators experienced an upswing in their win rate, reaching 9.3% in December. This spike resulted in bettors across the state receiving a cumulative total of $256.5 million in winnings.
In the fiscal year of 2023, operators collectively generated a cumulative revenue of approximately $200 million, marking a 20% year-over-year increase.
In December, operators contributed the sum of $2.8 million in taxes to the state treasury. This added to the cumulative tax remittance for the year 2023, reaching an impressive total of $13.4 million on an average hold of 8%.
DraftKings Iowa Dominates December’s Online Sports Betting
DraftKings led the online sportsbook market in December, processing $94.7 million in handle out of the total $258.3 million. With payouts amounting to $84.8 million, the operator reported a net revenue of $9.9 million.
Following behind, FanDuel secured the second spot with a handle of $67.5 million, generating $7.1 million in revenue and paying out $60.5 million.
Caesars Sportsbook claimed the third position, with a total handle of $34.3 million and a revenue of $2.5 million.
Penn Entertainment’s ESPN Bet occupied the fourth spot, recording a handle of $17.1 million and a revenue of $1.7 million.
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