Caitlin Clark has given the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament plenty of attention, but if you look at Iowa’s sports betting market, it may be affecting the state’s sportsbooks.
The Iowa Gaming and Racing Commission announced a monthly handle of $272.3 million, representing a 23% jump. Not only that, the action exceeded January’s sizable handle, which is usually one of the top betting months.
From those wagers, operators held 6.7%, which is an increase from 6.2% in February. While that means revenue increased, there is plenty of room to grow with such a low hold.
The net revenue for the state’s sportsbooks came to $18.1 million, leading to $1.2 million in taxes. January, for comparison, brought the state $1.5 million.
Sportsbook revenue tough to come by
Sports betting in Iowa is one of the more competitive markets, with 17 operators accepting online bets. However, with revenue under $20 million statewide, several books were left behind.
DraftKings led all operators with $6.5 million in net revenue, followed by FanDuel at $5.1 million. Caesars was third with $1.4 million with BetMGM close behind at $1.1 million.
But those four sportsbooks were the only ones to make more than $1 million in March. Below is the breakdown of operators who saw more than $1 million in wagers.
| Operator | March handle | March revenue |
|---|---|---|
| DraftKings | $98.8 million | $6.6 million |
| FanDuel | $67.7 million | $5.1 million |
| Caesars | $30.3 million | $1.4 million |
| BetMGM | $17.9 million | $1.1 million |
| ESPN Bet | $10.7 million | $790,000 |
| bet365 | $8.8 million | $582,000 |
| Fanatics | $6.7 million | $220,000 |
| BetRivers | $3.5 million | $241,000 |
| Circa Sports | $2.4 million | $150,000 |
| Bally's | $1.1 million | -$29,000 |
| Tipico | $1.08 million | $103,000 |
| BetFred | $1.05 million | $54,000 |
