The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission reported nearly $22.1 million in adjusted gross sports betting revenue for January as both DraftKings and FanDuel started the year in strong fashion.
It was the fifth-highest revenue total in 54 months of wagering in the Hawkeye State, and four of the top five amounts have come in the last five months of betting. Operators statewide had an 8.5% hold as nearly $259.5 million was wagered.
Revenue was up 33.4% compared to the first month of 2023 as the win rate was more than 1.4 percentage points higher. Handle was up 11.1% year-over-year, but both handle and revenue were down compared to December.
The state received nearly $1.5 million in taxes, pushing the all-time total above $40 million. Iowa taxes sports wagering revenue at 6.75%, tied with Nevada for the lowest rate in the United States.
DraftKings tops in handle and revenue
DraftKings started the year by finishing atop the list of mobile betting apps for both handle and revenue, totaling more than $8 million in winnings from over $86.6 million in accepted bets, crafting a hold of 9.3%. Mirroring the rise in operator revenue across the state, all four of the occasions DraftKings has topped $8 million in revenue have come in the last five months.
FanDuel was a close second in revenue, setting its all-time high in Iowa at $7.9 million thanks to a hold just shy of 12%. It was the 13th time in the last 15 months with a double-digit hold for the digital leviathan, which had handle in the state totaling $66.1 million.
ESPN BET finished fourth in handle with more than $16.7 million, down 11.3% from December. But its mobile market share was 7%, which was set as a first-year target nationally for the PENN Entertainment-owned sportsbook. It also had its first rough month in terms of results — ESPN BET had a hold below 0.5% and finished January with less than $75,000 in revenue.
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That was still better than Circa Sports, which absorbed its third consecutive monthly loss and its largest in 28 months of action in Iowa. Bettors came out $122,358 ahead against $2.7 million handle as Circa finished with a minus-4.5% win rate.
Tipico and Iowa-based Q Casino also started 2024 paying out more than they took in. Tipico posted a loss of close to $25,800 against nearly $309,000 in bets placed, while Q Casino paid out nearly $15,600 above its $230,000-plus handle. It was a rough overall month for Q Casino as the Dubuque-based sportsbook also had bettors walk away $53,268 to the good on the retail side from nearly $743,000 bet.
Caesars took third in both revenue and handle, claiming more than $1.7 million in revenue while posting a 5.4% hold from $31.8 million handle. BetMGM rounded out the top five for handle with more than $14.7 million worth of accepted wagers, and its 9.1% win rate resulted in more than $1.3 million in winnings.
Bet365 completed the top five for revenue, collecting close to $862,000 thanks to a 10.4% hold on nearly $8.3 million handle. The 18 mobile sportsbooks had a collective 8.6% hold on $238.4 million handle, resulting in $20.5 million worth of revenue.
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