Start with a women’s college basketball national championship appearance.
Mix in bowl invites for both Iowa and Iowa State.
Sprinkle in another Super Bowl win for the neighboring Kansas City Chiefs.
The recipe adds up to a record $2.6 billion in annual Iowa sports betting revenue. The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission (IRGC) released June numbers on July 10. The figures close out the July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024, budget year.
Iowa bettors actually broke the previous single-year sports gambling record with a month to spare.
- 2020 — $46.5 million (partial year)
- 2021 — $1.22 billion
- 2022 — $2.46 billion
- 2023 — $2.25 billion
- 2024 — $2.62 billion
- Total — $8.58 billion
Iowa sportsbooks and their casino partners first started accepting sports bets in August 2019. That money counted toward the 2020 fiscal year’s total.
June Added Fuel to Iowa Sports Betting Year
June 2024 numbers punctuated the year-over-year growth. Bettors wagered nearly $146.7 million for the month — that was up 21.3% from $119.1 million in June 2023.
Numbers vary from month to month based on the sports calendar, and bettors were more active in May. June’s total was down 19.6% from about $182.5 million in May 2024. The peak betting season is September through March.
Iowa has 19 state-regulated casinos, but gaming customers overwhelmingly prefer online sports betting at a rate of 93.2%, according to the IRGC.
The $146.7 million spent by customers in June generated $12.5 million in net receipts. The state collected about $803,000 in taxes from the sportsbook operators and their casino partners.
Iowa Has a Clear Sportsbook King
With the Olympic Games set to begin, Iowa had clear gold, silver, and bronze winners in the sports betting industry.
- DraftKings swept all 12 months as the top sports operator in money collected from bettors (handle). It was the only sportsbook to clear $100 million in a single month. The company accepted $100.1 million in November 2023 wagers.
- FanDuel was a clear second in all 12 months. March 2024 was its best month, with $67.7 million.
- Caesars consistently placed third in handle for the fiscal year. Its best month was December 2023, when it collected $36.7 million from bettors.
DraftKings, FanDuel, and Caesars were the only sportsbooks to clear $15 million in monthly handle for all 12 months of the fiscal year.
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