Iowa bettors look to have enjoyed a sports betting handle in March jumped 17.1% to $272.4 million according to figures released by the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission.
In of dollars, handle was nearly $40 million higher as Clark — a generational talent of both women’s and college basketball — captivated the nation with her scoring prowess in rewriting the NCAA college record books. Handle was also 68.7% higher than the $161.4 million worth of wagers placed in March 2021, which was Clark’s first NCAA Women’s Tournament and the first year Hawkeye State bettors could legally wager on “March Madness” since the 2020 edition was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
It was the sixth-highest handle in 56 months of wagering in Iowa and the fifth above $250 million in the last six months. Though the IRGC does not disclose handle and revenue by sport, Iowa’s three wins during the NCAA Tournament in March — the Hawkeyes beat 2023 champion LSU in the regional final April 1 — likely contributed to the 6.7% statewide hold. Iowa bettors are not allowed to place player prop bets on college games involving in-state schools.
Revenue was down 8.4% compared to last year as the hold was nearly two full percentage points lower than March 2023. The state collected $1.2 million in taxes for the month, lifting the total for the first quarter of 2024 to $3.6 million.
You know it’s a good month for bettors when… 4s3q47
The win rate from wagers placed via sports betting apps was 6.6% as Iowa’s 19 mobile sportsbooks generated $252 million handle for March. DraftKings and FanDuel were 1-2 as expected, but FanDuel’s 7.6% hold marked the first time the digital juggernaut had back-to-back months with a sub-10% win rate since June and July in 2022.
FanDuel did reach a pair of milestones in the Hawkeye State, suring $1.5 billion handle with $67.7 million worth of bets in March, and also cleared $125 million in all-time revenue after collecting $5.1 million in winnings. DraftKings, meanwhile, narrowly missed its second month with $100 million handle, coming up $1.2 million short with its second-best month of action behind last November. It had a 6.7% hold to claim $6.7 million in revenue and pace all mobile books.
Two smaller sportsbooks, Bally Bet and Tipico, topped $1 million handle for the first time while having wildly different outcomes. Bettors came out $29,585 ahead against Bally Bet, its second-worst monthly loss behind the $36,870 handed out above the $230,587 handled last December. Tipico had its first month with a six-figure revenue haul, winning $103,681 against $1.1 million handle for a 9.6% hold.
ESPN BET’s handle remained close to flat from February at $10.7 million as its market share slumped to 4.3% in March compared to 5.3% the previous month. The 5.5% market share of mobile handle is slightly below the 7% goal PENN Entertainment set as a first-year target.
Circa Sports wiped out its January loss of $122,358 with its second-best month since entering Iowa in October 2021, winning $150,598 while posting a 6.2% hold against $2.4 million handle. Circa posted its first back-to-back winning months since a three-month run from last June through August.
bet365 continues to lurk just outside the top five in of mobile handle, topping $7.5 million for the seventh consecutive month. The England-based book needed 10 months to reach $75 million handle and collected $582,306 in March thanks to a 6.6% win rate against $8.8 million worth of bets.
A bounce back on the retail side 4q1d51
After absorbing a six-figure loss for the second straight February with the Kansas City Chiefs successfully defending their Super Bowl title, Iowa’s retail sportsbooks bounced back nicely in March to win $1.7 million while attaining an 8.1% hold against $20.4 million handle.
Ameristar in Council Bluffs, which ed for more than 20% of in-person wagering with $4.6 million worth of wagers, also paced all brick-and-mortar venues with $439,403 in winnings as they likely saw action from some Nebraska bettors crossing state lines on the western side of the state for the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Diamond Jo in Dubuque set an all-time high for revenue with $236,803 thanks to a 16.7% hold as the $1.4 million worth of wagers trailed the December 2019 amount by fewer than $14,000.
Not everyone came out winners, though, as Riverside Casino & Golf Resort paid out above handle for the third time in as many months this year. Bettors collected $13,402 on top of the $321,544 handle, putting Riverside down $185,114 from just over $1 million wagered for the first quarter of 2024.
March’s handle also sent the all-time retail amount above $1 billion. Brick-and-mortar sportsbooks have won $96 million while fashioning a hold just under 9.5% since the state’s first bets were taken in August 2019.
