Higher stakes drive July sports betting revenue growth in Iowa

Players bet $108.6m on sports in July, up by 22.2% from $88.9m in the same month last year but 11.3% lower than $122.4m in June of this year.

Of this total, $98.4m was spent betting on sports online, while $10.2m was wagered at retail sportsbooks across the state.

In terms of revenue, this increased by 57.7% year-on-year from $7.1m in July 2021 and was also 33.3% up from $8.4m in June this year despite the lower handle. Online sports betting generated $10.1m in revenue and retail $1.1m.

Breaking the monthly performance down by individual operators, Diamond Jo in Dubuque, which has a FanDuel sportsbook, was the clear leader with $2.6m in revenue from a $26.6m handle.

Wild Rose in Jefferson, which operates in partnership with DraftKings, placed second with $1.1m in revenue and a $12.5m handle, while the Grand Falls Casino Resort and Betfred was third with $1.1m in revenue, despite a relatively small handle of $2.3m.

The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission also revealed that regulated sports betting activity in June generated $754,292 in tax revenue during the month.

Also last month, Swedish igaming hosting business Internet Vikings announced the launch of operations in Iowa.

The roll-out means Internet Vikings can now work with licensed operators in the state and support them with their igaming offerings.

Iowa marks the latest US state in which Internet Vikings has launched its igaming hosting operations, with the business also operating data centres in Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and West Virginia.