Two more casinos in Iowa — Grand Falls Casino just outside Larchwood and Diamond Jo casino in Northwood — have launched sportsbooks this week.
Grand Falls Casino has started taking online sports bets Friday (30 August) with the launch of its Bet.Works powered sportsbook, with retail betting to follow this weekend.
Meanwhile Diamond Jo Casino’s FanDuel sportsbook launched both retail and online variants on Thursday (28 August).
The retail launch at Grand Falls casino was delayed as the casino originally planned on partnering with Betfred for its sportsbook, but according to the Argus Leader, Betfred had not applied for a sports betting license in Iowa until earlier this week.
Because of this, Grand Falls Casino will launch sports betting under the Elite Sportsbook brand using Bet.Works’ technology, until the Betfred license is approved.
Located less than a mile from the South Dakota border, 12 miles from its most populous city of Sioux Falls and just over 3 miles from Minnesota, Grand Falls casino is likely to attract cross-border traffic as neither state has passed sports betting legislation. Diamond Jo may also attract sportsbook traffic from Minnesota, which is located five miles away.
Former Minnesota Vikings player and Pro Football Hall of Famer John Randle placed the first bet at the Diamond Jo sportsbook, which features three betting windows, six video displays including a large video wall, 11 self-service betting kiosks and one sports ticker.
Sports betting in Iowa was legalised after Governor Kim Reynolds signed legislation into law in May. Iowa will charge a 6.75% tax on sports betting revenue, while licensed gaming entities that offer sports wagering are required to pay a federal excise tax of 0.25%.
Sports betting in Iowa launched on 8 August, when eight sportsbooks went live.