Sports betting revenue in Iowa rocketed 251.7% month-on-month in December despite a decline in player spending, while the state also reported year-on-year declines in handle.
Revenue for the month reached $20.4m, which was 52.2% up from $13.4m in December of 2021. This was also comfortably higher than $5.8m in November 2022 when Iowa suffered a sharp decline following multi-million-dollar winning bet payouts to US businessman Jim ‘Mattress Mack’ McIngvale.
Figures published by the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission (IRGC) showed that of total revenue posted in December, $17.6m came from online sports betting, while a further $3.1m was attributed to retail sportsbook activity.
Handle decline
In terms of handle, players wagered some $229.9m on sports during December, which was down 13.7% from $266.5m in the same month in 2021 and also 7.1% behind $247.5m in November of 2022.
Of this total, $206.9m was spent betting on sports online, while the remaining $23.0m was wagered at retail sportsbooks in Iowa.
Diamond Jo in Dubuque, which has a FanDuel sportsbook, was again the market leader with $5.2m in revenue from a $51.3m handle.
Wild Rose in Jefferson and DraftKings moved into second with revenue of $2.5m off $34.1m in player bets, then Diamond Jo in Worth, which has a FanDuel sportsbook, on $2.3m from a $26.0m handle.
The IRGC also noted that it took $1.4m in sports betting tax during the month.